


We Happy Few// Band of Brothers fanfiction

by chaotic_billygoat13



Category: Band of Brothers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2019-08-17
Packaged: 2019-08-23 08:18:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 25
Words: 117,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16615310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaotic_billygoat13/pseuds/chaotic_billygoat13
Summary: "Oh yes! Let's have our soldiers jump from moving planes! What a wonderful idea! Hey, while we're at it, why don't we bring women into the infantry!" the vice president exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. The idea of parachute infantry did not sit well with him."What a wonderful idea, Mr. Vice President. I know just the girl to ask!" Roosevelt laughed. Both of the ideas sat very well with him.





	1. New Assignment

**Author's Note:**

> IMPORTANT!!!: I had a reader on Wattpad give some feedback about how historically inaccurate I was to start this story off so there is changes made with the condition of the President and Gabriella's age.  
> ~  
> Name: Gabriella "Gabi" Edwards  
> Birthday: January 13th, 1923  
> Age: 20  
> Hometown: New York City, grew up in a farmhouse just outside of the city  
> Family: Older sister (Evelynn Edwards, 25), mother (Marie-Alice Edwards, 50), father (Michael J. Edwards, 55), younger brother (Michael J. Edwards Jr., 15), younger sisters (Marie and Alice Edwards, 10)  
> H/C: dark brown  
> E/C: forest green  
> Height: 5'4''  
> Weight: 110 lbs.  
> Enjoys reading and sunsets. Ran for school track team, was the best in her division. Has basic training in self defense, close combat and weaponry. Works for President Roosevelt as a person assistant/ body guard. Carries personal pistol with her at all times + knives in her boots.

**Gabriella's POV**  
  
~~  
  
"You asked to see me Mr. President?" I greeted as I was let into the oval office. Everything was tense since the German's made their move on France. Roosevelt was on edge as we trained our new shipment of soldiers to sail over to Europe- both replacements for existing crews and all new crews.

"Yes. There's a new concept in the military. I'd like to go over it with you." Roosevelt said blankly as he finished typing on his typewriter, his expression serious and un-intimidated. 

"Ah, yes. The new airborne infantry idea will surely help us get a lead on the Germans. But I thought that concept was finished. And training had already begun about a year ago." I said, confused as to what he meant. Although the concept was almost finished, there was still a lot of talk about it. Everybody loved it, except for the Vice President. 

"It is, but this one is different. Just one second." he told me as he frantically typed until his page was full and ripped the paper out of the typewriter. He handed it to another one of his assistants with verbal instructions before adjusting his posture in his chair before waving everyone else out of the office. The doors locked from the outside behind them which made me worry a bit more. 

"Gabriella, you know just as well as I that your skills in field combat are unprecedented. You have the highest scores in this entire house." He began. 

"Thank you, sir." I appreciated, closing my hands behind my back, standing almost in attention. 

"The vice president  has brought up the idea of bringing fighting women into the war. I, of course, became intrigued by the idea." he explained, pouring himself a drink. I could almost see the Vice Presidents eyes rolling. He hated the fact I beat  his best officer in training. 

"I'm not sure I follow, sir." I told him, my expression changing to confusion. 

"With your consent, I want to send you to Camp Toccoa over in Georgia. You would be training with nine companies, but if you were to make it through you would be stationed with Easy Company." He finished. I was in a state of awe the whole time he was explaining it. It was the opportunity of a lifetime, but I would most likely be the only female in that whole camp. How he would even get the jurisdiction to send me there is beyond me.

"I'm not sure what to say to that, sir." I stumbled to put words together in this state of shock. 

"You would, of course, be the only female in that camp, but I can make extra pre-cautions to make your stay safe and secure since you're our only candidate. I know Colonel Sink, I trust him. I ran this idea past him a while ago and he said if you were to accept, he has a single shack waiting for you. He also said he would be more than willing to accompany you in any way he can." Roosevelt added. His voice was filled with pride. "He knows of your skills and believes you would be a prime example to the men. Something for them to work up to. And just between  you and me, some of those men need all the encouraging they can get." He finished with a chuckle. 

"How long do I have before I can give a definite answer?" I asked. I felt the need to think about this on my own for a while. If I was to screw this up, who  knows what would happen to my work here and the  war. 

"Go home early today. Think about it tonight and come back tomorrow at noon with your answer. If you have any more questions, I hope all the answers you seek are in here." he told me, handing me a stack of papers held together by tight binding. I turned to the first page and read the title, _Militia Concept: Women in War_.

"Y-yes, sir. I'll read over this tonight." I said, my eyes skimming over the words on the first page. 

"Wonderful. Now you go home now. You've done everything I asked you for today." He told me, pressing a button that buzzed to the agents outside the room to let me out. I gathered my things off the couch and followed him to the door as it opened. 

"If it's all the same to you, I know you'll do wonderful things for the war effort." he said, giving me a sincere expression and leaning back in his chair.  

"Thank you sir. " I muttered before stepping out of the office. I was lead by guards to the front door of the White House where a car and it's driver were sitting, waiting for me. Within 20 minutes, I was back at my apartment building heading up in the lift. My job in the white House guaranteed a place to live unless I was to quit or be let go, then I would have to go back to my parents farm house in upstate New York.  The old gears frightening me every time they croaked and groaned, like  I alone was too much weight for the old lift. The lift stopped and an operator opened the gate from the outside and let me out. I thanked him and began my walk down the hall to my flat. With my key in hand, I counted the doors like I always do. Except when I got to my door, there was a basket in front of it. I unlocked my door and picked up the basket. It wasn't too heavy, but it wasn't too light, either. I shut and locked my door behind me and placed my  bags on the armchair  in front of the television set. The old box hardly worked, but I barely used it anyway. I wasn't too concerned about it. 

I set the basket and the  stack of papers on the kitchen counter before I shrugged off my overcoat and hung it on the back of my door, covering the peephole. I peeled back the small piece of cloth covering the contents of the basket and pulled out a box with a note on it. 

_"Wherever the war takes you, just know we'll be with you._

_-Love,_

_Mom and Dad."_

I smiled and opened the box to reveal the old pistol my dad carried in the first world war before he was injured by the enemy too many times. Engraved in the handle were the initials of my family back home in upstate New York. In the basket was a box of bullets for the gun and a picture of my family. I took the gun and its bullets into my bedroom where I hid them in the drawer of my nightstand that was in between my bed and a cradle. I threw the basket in my closet and slid the picture into the front of another picture frame. 

I glanced over to the clock on the wall and saw it was only three  in the afternoon so I moved my bags from the armchair to the floor and sat down the read the papers. The front page gave information about the concept. I would train for the remaining year and a bit of training at Camp Toccoa before sailing off to England where I would drop from the skies over France with Easy Company, commanded by Captain Herbert Sobel, who has quite the reputation. From there I would follow Easy Company until the war is over, I'm killed in action or injured and sent home. 

I read the rest of the pamphlet and sighed. Would I be willing to risk my life for a concept I'm taking part in alone? Working for the president is much more different than fighting in one of the biggest wars in our human history. But this could also pave the way for other women who wish to fight. But there could also be other dangers than just the enemy. I would be the only woman in a company of men. Not only would there be a high chance of no one to help protect me, but I can't defend myself from 20 men on my own if they were to ever come after me. 

Fuck it.

I was known for doing stupid things that could possibly put me in danger or kill me, so what difference would it make? I stood up and grabbed my coat and my bag. I threw the papers in my bag and left my apartment, locking the door behind me. I raced down the stairs to the front door where the busy street was filled with cars and people rushing to get home or to the store before it closed. I hailed the closest taxi, which was a struggle. 

"To the White House, please." I said to the driver, handing over the change before the car started moving down the street. 30 minutes later I was at the front gate where they checked my identification card and let me through. I ran through the halls and eventually made it to the oval office where Roosevelt was still sitting, typing away. 

"Back so soon." he mumbled, finishing what he was typing before looking up at me. I got out the papers and  held them  up. 

"I accept." I announced, catching my breathe quite quickly. 

"I thought you were going to think about it tonight?" He questioned, waving everyone out of the office like before except this time, the Vice President stayed. 

"I was, but I read it over and I accept. I'll go to Camp Toccoa as soon as you'll let me. " I told him with a smile as a piece of loose hair fell down in front of my face. I pushed it up and fixed it with a pin as Roosevelt nodded. 

"Wonderful. I'll call it to order and we can get the papers signed."

~~

Time Skip

~~

I signed the papers and before I knew it, I was at the Vice President Wallace's house for dinner, where I was informed of my departure and arrival as well as my assignment for when I first get there. At first, I would be following Sobel and Easy Company in drills and exercises for the first few days; learn how things work and what not. Towards the end of the night, Wallace had made sure I had two boxes in the car that would take me home. 

"These are what you will need for Camp Toccoa. Before you sail to England, take what you want or need. It's all yours now." he told me. 

"Thank you, sir. I won't let you down." I said proudly. Wallace shook my hand and smiled. 

"I know you won't. I may have been a bit disapproving before, but now that I've thought  over it, you're perfect for this job. I know you'll do great. If it was a bunch of women we pulled off the street to do this, I would still be majorly skeptical. But I think you'll do better than most of us expect." he told me sincerely. I smiled before getting in the back seat of the car with my two boxes. I waved good bye as the car pulled away from the property and before I could comprehend, I was in my apartment unloaded the two boxes. 

Three pairs of tactical trousers, two pairs of PT gear, three tactical shirts, formal wear, my jacket, my cap, a belt and undergarments. I packed it all into a duffel bag I was given as well as all my feminine hygiene products. What ever else I needed was thrown into the duffel bag. I left my casual attire out for tomorrow morning. I was told to be at the train station for 0800 where I would take the train all the way to Georgia and then to Camp Toccoa. 

With everything set out for tomorrow, I sat down at my small table with my pen in hand and paper in front of me, I began to write a letter to my family. 

_" **My dear family,**_

_**It is with a heavy heart that I write to inform you of my departure from Washington and the White House. The president has brought up a new military concept in which I have joined. I leave for a training camp in Georgia tomorrow morning and from there, I will sail over to England to aid in the invasion of Europe to defeat the Germans. I will keep you all in my mind and heart as I train with a company of brave men, who I will soon be fighting alongside of. I promise to be careful while I'm away, but this is desperate times, and these desperate times require brave souls such as me and the men I will train with for the next year. I wish to come back as soon as I can and in a healthy manner. President Roosevelt has assigned someone to watch  over my apartment while I'm gone and to notify you when I have sailed to Europe, fore when I sail to Europe, I ask my close family to empty my apartment of it's contents and be sold. I have things being moved into a storage unit somewhere on the White House property that you must not worry about.** _

_**To conclude my letter, I ask that you all not worry about me, for I will be in good hands while I am away. So wish me luck as I embark on a one of a kind journey and I will return ton you as soon as possible.** _

_**With love,** _

_**Gabriella Edwards."** _

 

I folded the letter in an envelope and sealed it before attaching the sending address to the front and grabbing my coat. I  left the apartment and took an evening stroll to the postal office where I dropped off the letter and began my trip home. It was a quiet night. Cars passed by and a few people stalked the streets with their loved ones on a stroll or by themselves. I knew I was going to miss this, but I was also looking forward to getting a new assignment. 

I walked a little slower and took in all the sights of the city on my last night here. I took for granted how beautiful this place was while I was here and now that I'm leaving, it saddens me to know I underappreciated this place. 

As I arrived back at my apartment building, I took one more glance of the streets night life before walking inside and up to my apartment where I did my nightly routine before dozing off to bed. 

- **The Next Morning-**

I woke up at 0500 and changed into my formal attire. The light khaki pants and the dark jacket looked nice on me. I placed my cap on my head and looked at myself in the mirror for a long time. My long hair would probably be annoying at the camp and in the field. I cut my own hair before so I decided to chop most of it off until it was long enough to pull it back in a tight bun at the base of my neck, but high enough it wouldn't impede my movements. With that done, I admired the pins on my jacket. I had my name tag over my left breast and I had a pin on the left collar on my jacket. It was a single bar, to signify my position as a private. I knew I was probably not going to get any higher rank than this so I accepted it quickly. Around 0630, a knock on my door sounded through the apartment. I answered the door to see a commanding officer standing before. 

"Good morning, ma'am. I've come to take you to the station." He told me in attention. His voice seemed sincere, but his face looked like he hated the fact I was going to train among men. Typical. 

I grabbed my bag and locked the door and slid the key under my neighbors door. I alerted them I was leaving and they were to hold the key until Roosevelt sent someone to get it. 

I followed the young man down the stairs of my building until we reached a military vehicle. I threw my bag in the backseat of the open vehicle and sat in the back seat. The young man sat in the passenger seat as the driver pulled away from the sidewalk. Young kids and other ladies waved to me as I passed. I smiled and waved back to as many people as I could before they all stopped waving at me. It only took around 45 minutes to reach the station where I was given my ticket and boarded the train. I sat alone the whole way to Georgia; taking naps or reading until I got tired of it. 

When the train stopped in Georgia, I got off with a couple other officers. I assumed myself to be lost until an older officer approached me. 

"You must be Gabriella Edwards. I'm Colonel Robert Sink." he told me as I saluted the higher rank. He returned the salute. "You'll be driving with me until we get to camp." He told me. 

"It's an honor to be here, sir." I said, trying to cover my anxiety. 

"Roosevelt told me about you. I'm eager to see how you do." he said as we started to the vehicles. More open vehicles, great. With my bag next to me, we drove for about an hour until we got to camp where a few men looked at me strange. 

"Ignore them for now. Follow me." Colonel Sink told me as we entered the camp. He lead me to the barracks area where a single shack was standing. It had one cot and one shower just for me. I put my bag under the cot and followed him to another building acting as his office where he sat at a desk. 

"I just need to go over some rules with you before I introduce you to some of the men. " he started, earning a nod from me as I stood at ease in front of the desk. "You have your own barracks and showers so you won't need to wander between buildings late at night. The mess hall is where I expect you to be eating with the rest of the men, no sneaking food out to eat in your shack. You do not expect different treatment than the men. Once you are integrated into the training, you will undergo the same physical hardship as the rest of the men. You will not be let off easy and make one too many mistakes and you will be out of this camp. Now, is all of this understood?" He questioned. 

"Yes, sir. Perfectly understood." I answered, my expression blank. 

"Good. A word of advice, if you can't handle getting picked on a little by the other men, you probably won't last long." he said, standing up from the desk. 

"I grew up with an older brother, sir. I think I can handle it for the most part." I reassured him, earning a grin. 

"Great. Now, if you'd follow me, I'll introduce you to Easy Company. You'll be training with them and if you make it to the end, you'll be dropping into France with them. " He told me before leaving the office. I followed close behind him, putting my cap back on my head as we made it outside. I saluted the officers standing by the doors as we marched to the mess hall. As we got closer, my heart began to race. I could only imagine the reaction of those men when Sink tells them about me. And being stopped by who I can assume was Captain Sobel didn't help either. 

"Good afternoon, Captain Sobel. I'd like you to meet someone." Sink said, saluting Sobel before turning to motion to me. "This is Gabriella Edwards. She'll be joining Easy Company in training." Sink explained. 

"It's an honor to meet you, Captain Sobel." I said saluting him. 

"Same to you. " He said, returning the salute before turning to Sink. "The men have just finished training for today. Zero infractions to report which means they all have weekend passes, sir." Sobel told Sink. 

"Good. Why don't you come into the mess hall with us so I can introduce Gabriella here to the guys." Sink suggested but it was more like a demand. Sobel nodded and lead the way. Once we entered the mess hall, Sobel shouted at the men and they all rushed to stand  up in attention. 

"At ease, gentlemen. I have an important announcement to make." he exclaimed as the men stood at ease. "There's a new concept to add to the new Parachute infantry concept; women of war. Now, this concept was scrapped together in just a few days so we haven't had many candidates come forward, but we have one." Sink began to explained, the look of confusion filled the room and only grew bigger. "I'd like to introduce Gabriella Edwards. She worked with the President and has some incredible skills in combat and field work. I believe she'll fit right in with you lot. She'll be joining you in the rest of your training until we sail off to Europe. Now I expect that you all show her some respect. She's one of us now. Expect her to join you in training after your weekend off. That'll be all." Sink finished speaking before turning to me and motioning for me to follow him. The men stood at attention as we left, but I can assume they all sat back down once we were gone; and probably talking about the news once we were out of ear shot. I couldn't blame them for talking shit considering it was extremely, extremely rare to see women in the war besides nurses, circuit board workers, cooks or secretaries. Women fighting as probably considered more than just taboo. 

"That was just lunch. I'd hope you go back for dinner tonight and introduce yourself personally to some of the men. " Sink told me as we stopped outside the mess hall. Him and I both knew I was probably going to be ignored by at least 99.9% of the men in the company. 

"Yes, sir. " I said, standing straight. I prayed my nervous feeling didn't show while we were in the mess hall in front of all of them, and I prayed it didn't show in front of the Colonel. 

"Good. I'll let you explore the camp and get settled. You can find a map of the camp at the front office if you need." he told me. I nodded and saluted him. He returned the salute before turning and walking away with Sobel who glanced back at me before walking away. 

I wasn't awfully hungry at the moment so I tried to find my way back to my shack to unpack. I had a foot locker at the end of my cot which I put my clothes and book in. I hid my pistol under some clothes in a box in hopes no one would find it and have it confiscated, although I'm sure Sink already knew about it. I  changed out of my formal gear and into my tactical gear. Straight khaki pants and jacket along with my cap. I moved my feminine stuff into the shower area before looking satisfied at my new place. I decided to go exploring, get to know the camp a little better. I didn't think a map would be necessary so I read signs and made a note of where the most important buildings were like the infirmary, the mess hall, the front office and any training areas.

I thought I was doing well. There was a high chance most of the men here wouldn't even talk to me willingly for the first few days, or even weeks. Women fighting was extremely rare, like critically rare, so I wouldn't doubt they were skeptical of my presence. I couldn't blame them either. They'd been away from home for a while now and seeing a woman in their camp that wasn't a nurse or secretary probably made them think they were hallucinating. 

"You look lost, sweetheart." A voice said suddenly from behind me. I spun around and met the faces of four of the men. A couple I spotted when I was being introduced in the mess hall. 

"Just a little bit." I mumbled, giving a shy salute to the four to which they grinned and returned. 

"So you're our new crew-mate, huh?" One of them said. The name on his jumpsuit read 'Guarnere', obviously Italian or from Italian decent. Same with the shortest one, who's jumpsuit tag read 'Perconte'. 

"Why you joining so late? Get some special training elsewhere?" Another one questioned, lighting up a smoke. The tag on his jumpsuit read 'Luz'. I tried my best not to seem intimidated, but these guys seemed like trouble. It also worried me that no one else was around. I must have wandered to a dead-end zone or something. 

"It was mandatory to complete a basic training course before working at the White House. I guess that's why I'm the only candidate." I explained. I watched as they all nodded and a couple of them exchanged glances, which made me even more nervous. "I can assure you, I came straight from the White House to here." I added, hoping they might lay off a bit. The one named Guarnere nodded a bit. 

"You could with  hand-to-hand combat?" He asked, probably since no one else was asking any questions. I thought about it for a second, to choose my words wisely. 

"I'd say I'm okay. Probably not the best, but decent. I ranked at the top in my class." I answered before I realized I had boasted a little too much for my first day at camp. "Not to float my own boat...or anything." I added, my words getting softer as I finished. 

"Is that right? Huh..." Guarnere huffed before turning to face the last guy, who's tag read 'Toye'. "You think she could beat me in combat training?" He asked him with a grin. 

"Anybody could beat you, Bill. You're predictable." Toye told his friend, straight up. Guarnere probably didn't find that as funny because he turned back to face me and his grin was gone. Perconte and Luz looked at Guarnere almost with worry before Perconte asked his next question. 

"So, you worked in the White House, eh? Whats that like?" he asked, probably trying to change the subject. I hope it wasn't because I was showing how nervous I was. 

"Mellow. Not a lot to do. I guess that's why I took the offer to come here. Find something different to do for a bit." I answered as sincerely as I could. It seemed like their intense staring made it harder to speak. I got that familiar lump in my throat, similar to the one someone would get when they cry. 

"And are you aware that most these guys won't like you being here?" Luz asked. 

"Oh, I'm sure of it. I'm surprised you guys are even talking to me." I admitted, earning a chuckle from a couple of them. 

"You know how to talk smack?" Perconte asked, with a sly grin on his face.

"A little bit. My older sister and I used to piss our mother right off with our mouths." I told them before getting an idea. "What's it to you, short-stack?" I added with a cheeky grin of my own. 

"Ooooohhh!" Toye and Luz exclaimed while Gaurnere burst into a fit of laughter and Perconte just chuckled and nodded. 

"You just had to ask, didn't you?" Toye questioned, patting Perconte on the shoulder. I was taken back a bit when Guarnere wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled my into his side like some weird, half hug thing before letting me go. 

"I applaud you, miss. I applaud you!" Luz cheered, trying to control his laughter. 

"I don't think good ol' Frankie here has ever been spoken to by a woman like that, eh Frank?" Toye said, obviously playing around. My nerves seemed to die down a bit and I wasn't as intimidated as I was before. 

"I think this little lady will fit right in, what do you say boys?" Guarnere asked the three as the laughter died down a bit. Mumbling their answers of agreement, all three nodded their heads before Gaurnere turned back to me. 

"Bill Guarnere. This here is Joe Toye, George Luz and Frank Perconte." He introduced, shaking my hand. 

"I figured as much." I said, shaking their hands which got me confused looks before I pointed to the tags on their jumpsuits. 

"Ah, we got an observer on our hands." George Luz stated as I shook his hand last. 

"Why don't we show you around the camp a bit. Maybe you won't get so lost next time." Guarnere suggested, placing a firm grip on the part of my shoulder where my shoulder met my neck. 

"Well I didn't mean to get lost." I defended as I was pulled away from our previous spot. Obviously, I was going in the wrong direction after all. 

 

To start, I was introduced formally to Winters and Nixon who were platoon leaders. They seemed to be excited to have a new face around. Eventually, Perconte and Luz left and it was just Toye, Gaurnere and I wandering around camp. I met Malarkey who introduced me to Muck and Penkala, his two best friends. They were just as skeptical as VP Wallace was. They asked their set of questions and we moved on down the road. Everyone I met after that seemed less than pleased to meet me and the looks some of them gave me changed my opinions about getting closer to them, especially that Cobb guy. I couldn't tell what the meaning was behind his expression. Either disgust and jealousy or disgust and interest; neither sat well with me. A few of the guys I got introduced to just scoffed and walked away, but Gaurnere assured me they might come around and that some of them are just letting their pride get in the way. I got a feeling in my gut that he too was still skeptical about my presence. I couldn't really tell where Joe Toye stood on the whole subject since he seemed like the more quiet guy.

After the two were done showing me around, the dinner bell rang from the mess hall. The camp itself wasn't bad, but what they fed us for dinner that night made me question why I came here. Each plate was served with what I think was meatloaf and covered in gravy next to some potatoes and bread. It looked like it came straight out of high security prison for the criminally insane. 

"What a great last meal before the weekend." Luz mumbled as he moved ahead of me in line. I had lost Gaurnere when we entered the mess hall and Toye was chatting with someone behind me. It was almost expected when a few of the men jumped in front of me in line, but I wasn't too mad about it. How could I blame them. They were probably trying to show they were higher than I was, but what ever. I got my food and moved along to try and find a table before someone bumped my arm and passed me. I didn't see their face, which aggravated me a little, but I didn't show it. A second later, someone else grabbed my arm rather harshly and started to move down a few tables. I saw it was Toye and followed him willingly to a table where Gaurnere, Luz, Randleman and a few others were sitting. I sat down at the end of the bench next to Gaurnere who was happily chowing down on his food like it didn't bother him one bit. The mess hall was filled with the noises of about 130 sloppy eaters and about 70 different conversations. I began to eat as I listened in on the other conversations around me. Anything I heard wasn't about me, but as I looked around, I noticed a few of them were whispering to each other while looking right at me. Probably surprised I got dragged to this table and I didn't walk over to the empty table in the back corner. 

"So, how you liking camp so far?" Luz asked me with a mouth full of food. he was probably expecting some sort of happy, go-lucky answer like 'this place is great, I can't wait to start training on Monday'.

"It's ok. It's a change from the White House." I answered, slowly munching on my food.

"So what's it like working with Good ol' President Roosevelt?" Gaurnere asked, looking up at me from his slouched eating position. 

"I didn't mind it. It was a lot of listening to him and the vice president bicker in the office and the paperwork. Oh, the paperwork was atrocious." I exclaimed, earning chuckles and laughs from the guys around me. I thought that maybe if I kept up on the same kind of humor these guys had, maybe they would accept me faster. Or I would have to wait till training started to actually prove myself worthy. 

''You might want to refrain from using complicated words around some of the guys, they might think you're speaking a different language." Luz laughed, motioning to Randleman across the table. 

"What the hell does that mean?" Randleman questioned, looking down at his shorter friend. 

"You know what that means. You're all brawn no brains." Gaurnere laughed, adding to the fire. 

"You shut your mouth, Bill." Randleman fired back, throwing a random fork at him. 

"Hey! That was my fork!" Johnny Martin shouted, punching Randleman in the arm. 

"Not my problem." Randleman shrugged. Martin huffed and got up to grab his fork off the floor, wiping it on his trousers. I laughed with the guys and continued eating until I was done. One of the mess hall workers came around and collected empty trays. I thanked him when he collected mine and while the guys were still chatting and laughing with one another, I slipped away and out of the mess hall. They seemed nice enough, but I could tell a whole wack  of them didn't like me.

I placed my cap on my head as I reached the outdoors. I saluted any officers I saw wandering around before trying to find my way to my shack in the dark. I'd had enough excitement for one day and was feeling awfully tired. I figured it would be best to just shower and crawl into bed with my book. I had changed into my nightly attire which consisted of another pair of shorts, similar to my PT shorts, and a tank top. I was about to peel my socks off when there was a knock on my door. I sighed and slid my boots back on and went to answer the  door. I opened it to reveal Colonel Sink. I stood in salute before he returned a salute. 

"I see you've made acquaintances with a few of the men." He said as I let him in. 

"Yes, sir. Some of them seemed to accept my presence faster than others. And a few of them are really friendly." I said graciously, closing the door to my shack. 

"And who exactly would these men be?" Sink asked, placing a bottle on top of my footlocker. 

"Bill Gaurnere, Joe Toye and George Luz mostly." I answered throwing a long over coat over myself. "Oh, and Frank Perconte. They were the first ones to approach me earlier. They showed me around camp a bit." I added before mumbling to myself. "Which is a surprise."

"An interested first start  to making friends. I'd be careful of being friends with Gaurnere especially. He's a little reckless, that one." Sink warned me, grabbing two glasses from a cupboard I hadn't noticed was full until now. I watched as proceeded to pour a couple drinks over my footlocker. He set down the bottle and picked up the two glasses, handing me one. 

"I believe you've made a good start at camp. I look forward to seeing how you do in training on Monday. Easy Company has weekend passes that haven't been revoked so I'm placing you with Dog Company for the next two days. They got their passes revoked by their leader which means they'll be training. You'll watch them train and by Monday you should know what to do. " He explained as I sipped from my glass. 

"I look forward to it, sir." I said as he took a sip from his  glass. 

"Good. I'm leaving this with you as a welcoming gift. If I were you, I'd save it for after training starts. Sobel can be a little harsh on the company when it comes to pushing them." Sink said, handing me the bottle and walking to the door. "I'll leave you alone now. Be in the training field for 0600 tomorrow morning. " He told me as he opened the door. 

"Yes, sir. Have a good night, sir." I said, shifting the bottle in my arms so I could salute. He saluted back before leaving, closing the door behind him. I set the bottle down on a small desk and finished my drink. I wiped out the glass with a hand towel before placing it back in the cupboard. I hung my coat backup before taking my socks and boots off and crawling into bed.   
  


-

  
**Guarnere's POV**

**~**

 

I noticed the new girl slip away after dinner, probably while she thought we wouldn't notice. Although, she was pretty hard not to notice. One girl in a company of men? She may be shorter than  most, but she sticks out like a sore thumb. I'm sure the thoughts of the other guys were similar to mine. No one wanted a girl to show them  up in training or even slow them down if she turns out not to be who she says she is. But there was one thing for certain: she could hold her own if any of the guys started picking on her. I couldn't help but notice that she had a strong physique to her. I'm sure she could hold off a couple guys at least if she needed to and I was excited to see how she did in training on Monday. 

"Cut the shit, boys. What are your thoughts on new girl?" Martin asked, his tone serious. 

"I think she's alright. I mean, we won't know how she does with fighting until Monday, but she seems pretty nice." Joe answered, giving his opinion. 

"I don't know. She's small, like Frank. Remember when we all had punishment until he could climb the wall on the obstacle course? What if we have to do that again because of her. I'm not ready to do that shit again." Randleman added, probably trying not to hurt Frank's feelings. 

"You making fun of us short-stacks, Bull?" Frank retorted, using the nickname new girl gave him earlier. 

"Maybe she'll surprise us in training. I don't know if anyone noticed, but she looks strong enough that she could pull her own." I added, bringing everyone's attention back to Martin's question. 

"Okay, well, while you were checking out the new girl..." George started before I interrupted. 

"I wasn't checking her out, Luz!" I defended. 

"Well then, what _were_ you doing?" he countered, which pissed me off a bit since I didn't have anything to say to that. 

"All I'm saying, is that she looks strong enough that she might make it to Europe with us. It's all I'm saying." I finished. 

"And what happens if she slows us all down? And Sobel makes us work more than he's already doing?" Joe asked. 

"We won't know for sure until she starts training with us. She could be really good, she could be really bad. We don't know that yet. We all have our moments where we weigh the company down a bit. Why is she any different?" I said, almost like I was defending the poor girl. 

"Bill's right. It's not like she was thrown into this camp without her consent. She accepted the offer to come here. She wanted to be a paratrooper, just like the rest of us." Frank added, helping me out a bit. 

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you two are starting to like this new girl." George added before getting punched in the arm by Frank. 

"All we're saying is, we should give her a chance before we start making assumptions." I said before standing up from the bench. "I'm headin' back to barracks. It's been a day." I said before leaving the mess hall. We really wouldn't know anything about the new girl until Monday, so for now, I was planning on enjoying my weekend off.

**~End of Chapter 1~**


	2. Getting Used to Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After watching Dog Company training over the weekend, Gabriella joins Easy Company for her first day of training. She regrets her decision greatly.

**Gabriella's POV**  
  
~~  
  
After a weekend of standing around watching Dog Company in their training, I felt confident that I could join Easy Company without fault. Boy, was I wrong. 

Sobel had us lined up, dressed in our OD uniforms, rifles and all, for inspection. Apparently, Frank getting called on the creases in the bottom of his trousers was usual and I got nervous because we were pretty much the same height, which meant I probably had the same problem. Thankfully, I didn't get called on it, but Sobel did take his time picking on me sine I was the only female in this company.

"I don't know about the rest of the men, but I sure as hell wouldn't want a woman holding me back when we get to Europe and I sure as hell wouldn't want a woman holding me back in training either!" Sobel shouted as I stood in attention, not moving a muscle. "Private Edwards, are you prepared to even be here?" he asked me, getting in my face about it. 

"Yes, sir." I answered, my voice filled with determination even if it was partly to get him out of my face.

"No you're not, Private. You know how I can tell? You showed up late. These men have been here for almost a year and you show up fresh out of the Oval Office sipping hooch with the President!" He shouted once more. By now, I was starting to get sick of his shit. I looked dead ahead and didn't say a word, my expression blank. Eventually, since getting no reaction from me, he moved on and inspected a couple other guys. A change from the weekend they just had, we all got our next weekend passes revoked. Thankfully, I wasn't the cause of it which meant maybe some of the men might not think of me as a threat. But since our passes got revoked, there was punishment. 

Our first exercise was running Curahee in PT gear. I kept up to the front of the pack, but once the guys got tired, they started to slow down and Sobel wants us to stay in a formative group, so I had to slow down until the path to the top of Curahee got thinner and more stretched out. From there, Lieutenant Winters started leading the group and he would've been the first to reach the rock had I not passed him and slapped the top of the rock where Sobel stood holding a stop watch. I  began my descent, high-fiving Gaurnere, Toye, Luz and Randleman as I passed them. Winters showed up on my left flank in almost disbelief. 

"I knew you could run, but honestly, I didn't expect you to be at the front." Winters commented, panting as bad as I was. 

"I was a track and field runner in school. One of the best. Running is kind of my thing." I told him as a couple of the guys caught up to us. Before long, we were running as a group once more the rest of the way down Curahee. Once we were back in the field, a few of the men knelt down to try and catch their breathe. Muck was trying to fix a cramp in his leg by running a closed fist over the sore spot. I remained standing as Sobel ran up behind the group. 

"You all made good time, but it's not good enough! For that, your next weekend pass is still revoked until further notice. We run Curahee again tomorrow. Take a break, get some water and meet at the obstacle course in 10 minutes!" Sobel announced, earning moans and groans from the crowd. 

"So...what do you think of Curahee?" Gaurnere asked, out of breathe like the rest of us. He was probably thinking I would quit just because of that hill. 

"I fucking hate it." I muttered in response, earning weak chuckles from Gaurnere and Toye, who walked by the same time I said it. 

"Hey! 10 minutes, go get some water." Nixon told us before walking away. I held out my  hand to Gaurnere, which he gratefully accepted. I pulled him off the ground before following him to find water and then following him to the obstacle course where we got split up. One group would sit on the sidelines to cheer the other group on as they ran the course. The unlucky first group got split into 3 or 4 lines. I was lined up second behind Randleman in the third line. 

"Ready!" Sobel yelled as he held a timer. The first people in line got ready to run. "Go!" The first people in line went off. We waited for Sobel's command to go, but remained ready.

"Next group go!" Sobel yelled and I started running. I moved through the rope plot with ease. Jumping in and out of rope squares was ease. Jumping over the 10 foot wall was different. I managed to squeeze my hand in a small crack in the wood and pulled myself up until I grabbed the top and hoisted myself over. I landed on my feet, but fell to my knees when I fell off balance. I stood up as Perconte jumped down from the top, falling to the ground like I did. I helped get him up by lifting him up under his arms before running off towards the square tunnels were we crawled through and rolled out at the end. After that, we ran to a flag pole and turned around to run back where we ran over to logs that were set up at different heights. The first one you could step over, the second one you had too hurdle over and the third one you had to go under, and there were nine logs. After that, I jumped onto the platform and went through the monkey bars with ease until one of the guys beside me swung his leg to much and kicked me in the side. My right hand let go, but I managed to regain my grip and finished through. The kick to the side winded me a little so when I got to the end of the course, I walked ahead a few feet before kneeling down to catch my breathe. 

"Hey, sorry about that. I didn't mean to kick you." One of the guys said sarcastically before walking away. It pissed me off, but it was expected being the only woman in this company. I was probably their new chew toy for some of them to pick on. 

"Second group ready!" Sobel called. I stood up to stand on the sideline as Gaurnere and Luz lined up at the front. "Second group go!" Sobel called and they were off. I hadn't caught my breathe enough to cheer, but I kept moving and walked to the middle of the course. Eventually I started cheering on some of them, shouting encouraging words if they fell down. I knew I was probably being ignored, but I needed to do anything to get me on their good sides. 

After the obstacle course, we got 20 minutes to get water and get sorted because next was close combat training. We changed into our OD uniforms for this one. I was worried most about this only because I didn't know if one of the men would put me up too the challenge of trying to defeat Randleman. I wasn't up for that yet. Key word: yet. 

"Get into groups of three! Two will fight, one will spot! You all know how this works!" Sobel shouted over the muttered conversations between men. 

"Hey! Gabi! Is it alright if I call you Gabi?" Gaurnere asked as he approached me, Toye following shortly behind. I've only ever been called Gabriella so it was a surprise to hear someone call me by a nickname. Especially in these circumstances.

"Yeah, Gabi's fine." I told him, wiping sweat  from my brow. 

"Great. Why don't you join our group. I can already tell no one else is going to let you. " he said, pulling me away  from the other groups a bit. at this point, I didn't really have a choice since he dragged me with him. 

"You want to spot first?" Toye asked. I shrugged and nodded before the two went through defensive and offensive moves against each other before Toye swept Gaurnere off his feet, ending the fight. Anything they did, I already knew. Part of my training to be at the White House. 

"Take it easy on the back of the knees, eh!" Gaurnere complained as he got up off the ground. 

"It's combat training. Get over it." Toye retorted, smiling to himself. 

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. You're up, kid." Gaurnere muttered, tapping my shoulder. I stepped closer to Toye as he tried to wipe the smile from his face. 

"I'll try to take it easy on ya'." He taunted. 

"Pssh! As if." I mumbled before Toye took a step towards me, going in for an upper right hand hook. I raised my left arm to block it and brought my left knee up to his gut. It made impact, but not enough to wind him. He grabbed my leg to try and knock me off my balance, but I only tore my leg away, spun and raised the same leg up and around the back of his neck and bringing him down to the ground in one swift motion. I landed on my knee, my leg still over the back of his neck: a precaution I take in case he decided to try and fight back and I have a simple way to take him down again. 

"Woah! Shit! You didn't even see that coming, now did you, Joe!" Gaurnere cheered before laughing his ass off. I took my leg off his neck, stood up and took a couple steps back. 

"Nu-uh! I call rematch!" He announced, angrily. This probably changed his opinion about my abilities, but whether or not he liked me was a different story now. 

"Well, then get up." I told him, ready to fight once more. He gladly bounced back up, rage in his eyes. That's when Gaurnere stopped laughing. He made the same move he did last time. Step forward and got for the upper hand hook, except he changed hands, which was still easy for me to block. 

"Come on, Toye! She's smaller than you! You have an advantage right there!" Sobel screamed a few feet away which only made Toye even more livid. He ripped his hand away and went for the leg tackle, but I jumped in time and front-flipped over him, causing him to face-plant into the dirt. But since he fell on his own and not by my hand, the match was still on. 

"She's making you look weak! Get back up and fight like a man!" Sobel screamed, drawing the other guys over to watch and making Toye even angrier. Toye stood up and faced me. 

"You're letting anger cloud your judgement. That'll never win you a close combat fight with anyone." I told him loud enough only he could hear me. My trainer told me the same thing in basics and it helped me. And clearly it was having an effect on Toye because he didn't look so angry. I stepped forward with my fists up, ready to throw a punch or block one. I decided it was my turn to throw the first punch so I took a shot at the head- which he blocked- and with his mid-section wide open, I took a shot at his ribs, but not hard enough to hurt. It pushed him back a little before he attempted a straight kick to my guts, which followed through. I stumbled back and tripped over a dip in the ground. From there, I rolled back and stood up in one movement before he came at me again. I swerved the punches he threw. He threw a right jab at me. I moved my upper half to the side to dodge it and with his arm on my right side, I punched up on his arm, exposing his middle once more and going in for the tackle, winning that  match again. 

"Goddammit!" Toye cursed as I stood up. I held out my hand for him which he glared at for a second before accepting. I pulled him off the ground in one pull before Sobel spoke up again. 

"Your punches were sloppy and predictable. You were forgetting everything you were taught." Sobel stated in that harsh tone of his. Toye's anger came back the second he finished speaking. 

"Everyone back in your fighting positions, we're doing this until someone gets it right!" Sobel yelled. Everyone split up and went back into their groups. Gaurnere let Toye spot while we brawled it out. I managed to stay on my toes for most of the matches, except for the one where I let my guard down and Gaurnere took a cheap shot at me. I guess it made Toye feel a little better about losing to me. 

After another hour of close combat training, we were let go. Training was over for the day which meant we finally got to relax and shower. I slipped away quietly towards my shack, ready to collapse on my bed the second I arrived. Instead, I locked the front door behind me and grabbed my tactical wear and a towel before shutting any windows near my shower before stripping out of my sweaty PT gear and starting a shower. I didn't take too long to clean myself and shut off the water before towel drying myself. I dried my hair and while it was still damp, I tied it up in a tight bun before changing into my clean tactical gear. I poured warm water into a large pail and ran my PT gear through it with some soap before ringing it out in the shower and hanging the gear on some hooks to dry before loud knocks sounded at my door. I straightened my clothes and left the shower area. 

"Hey! Gabi! You're going to be late for dinner! Let's go!" voices shouted from the other side of the door. I unlocked and opened the door only to be tackled by Toye. Confused, I sat up and waited for a response. 

"That was for earlier." He said, standing up and holding out his hand for me. I accepted and he pulled me to my feet, Gaurnere and Luz laughing at the door. 

"We even now?" I asked, straightening out my clothes once more. 

"Yes." He replied, smiling like a kid on Christmas. 

 

**-Time Skip-**

 

As our training grew nearer to an end, the men began to grow weary of my presence. I think it's because they didn't think I would last as long as I did. Sobel didn't ease up on me and I didn't expect him to, but when  he rummaged through my footlocker for inspection a couple times, he went over board with it. It was a good thing I had my gun tucked in a wall somewhere. We began our jump training a while ago and I immediately jumped to the top of the skill rank. Winters made me a prime example of how you should jump out of a plane. 

"Listen up! Today is your last day to get this right! This is, hopefully, our last jump training. You do this right, and you'll have time to say good bye to your families. Any refusal at the door will result in your removal from the 101st Airborne." one of our commanding officers announced as we got ready to jump once more. We were already separated into our groups of 12 and were sitting in front of a stand for the commanding officer, who had a map behind him. I listened intently at the back of the group, my left leg serving as a partial back rest for Malarkey, who hadn't spoken to me much the last few days, especially if I asked him for help finding my way through our airfield at Camp Bennett. 

Once the officer was finished talking, Winters, Nixon and Sobel helped the rest of us stand up like they would when we drop. I was the second last one pulled up before we boarded our respective planes. Being the second last to stand up, I was second or third to jump. The only bad thing: Gaurnere and Toye were on different planes. The only one that I sort of got along with was Muck, and he was at the back of the plane. 

Within minutes we were in the air and Winters had instructed us to stand up and then hook up. Followed by equipment check. 

"12 okay!"

"11 okay!" 

"10 okay!" 

"9 okay!"

"8 okay!"

"7 okay!" 

"6 okay!"

"5 okay!" 

"4 okay!"

"3 okay!"

"2 okay!"

"1 okay!"

"Stand in the door!"

"Go! Go! Go! GO! Go! Go! Go! GO!" I let go of the door frame and jumped when commanded to. My chute was pulled as soon as I left the plane so all I had to do was hold onto the ropes connecting the chute to my pack and fall to the ground. Jumping was easy. Landing was different. If you put  your feet down to soon or too late, you would snap your bones like brittle sticks if you were falling fast enough. I was smaller-lighter- so I descended slower than most of the other men. 

When my feet hit the ground, I fell to my knees before being dragged in the wind by my chute for a few feet before I managed to contain it. I wrapped my chute and attached it to my pack before running towards the muster point where I met up with Winters and Luz, who was ahead of me in the plane. Before long, the rest of our squad met up with us in the tree line and we stalked the forest until we hit the dirt road where trucks were ready for our arrival. Our chutes were removed by other officers and repacked into another truck as we loaded in our orders into the trucks. Once the last group arrived, the trucks took off toward camp. Colonel Sink met us at the front gate with a proud smile partially hidden by his mustache. Sobel, Winters and Nixon greeted him first in salute as the rest of us stood at attention in a neat formation behind the three. I was stuck  in the middle surrounded by guys much taller than me, which made me partially invisible. 

"Great job, Easy Company. I think it's safe to say you've completed your training. Go get cleaned up and meet in the truck stop. We're going to the town tonight." he told us. We stood in salute as he left before Sobel dismissed us. I peeled away from the crowd towards my own shack to get cleaned up after dropping off the training gear. 

I showered quick and dried my hair before changing into my formal attire. I was told we didn't need our caps, but I tucked it into the inner part of my jacket just in case. I put my hair up in a french roll before tying my boots on the edge of my footlocker. I made sure I had money in my pocket before heading out the door of my shack. I made my way to the front gate where Sink saw me and began to walk over. 

"Evening, sir." I said with a salute. 

"Evening, paratrooper." He greeted, returning the salute. "Walk with me, for a minute." He said, motioning towards the office. I followed close behind as we passed Gaurnere, Toye, Luz and Perconte. They gave a salute until they passed us as we returned a salute before we made it to the office. 

"I wanted to give this too you in private. I spoke to Roosevelt and told him about what you've done here at camp and he suggested we bump you up on the ranking." he told me, rummaging through some drawers in his desk and pulling out the sergeants stripes. "Him and I are damn proud of you and all you've accomplished since you've left the White House. And quite frankly, Corporal doesn't do any justice to all you've shown us." he continued as one of the assistant ladies came over, motioning for my jacket. I took it off, revealing my khaki colored long sleeve underneath that has been tucked into my belt line. Sink handed her the stripes and she disappeared behind  a wall for a few moments. I had earned a promotion to Corporal with Guarnere and Toye some time ago. Don't ask me how long ago because I frankly can't remember. 

"W-why am I being promoted to sergeant, sir? Don't you think that title is more suited for maybe Martin or Lipton?" I questioned. 

"They'll get their promotions tonight when we reach the town. For now, you'll be the first of Easy Company to get a higher ranking. You should be proud of yourself, Gabriella. You've made your family and everyone in the White House very proud." He explained with a smile as the assistant lady came back with my jacket, the stripes ironed and stitched onto the left sleeve. I thanked the lady before she turned and walked away. I lifted my  arm to admire the stripes; I couldn't believe what was happening. I also feared the reactions of those who hated me. "Your commitment to this camp and your training has made you a prime example of how every paratrooper should be, and for that, you're being promoted. You'll be leading squads with what ever other sergeant Winters, Nixon and Sobel decide to put you with." he explained. 

"You'll get your jump wings tonight with the rest of Easy Company." He continued, pouring out two drinks. "For now, this is a private promotion, requested by the president. " he said, handing me one of the drinks and two envelopes. "From the president and your family. I knew you were going to make it so I warned them ahead of time." he said, taking a sip of his drink. 

"Thank you, sir. I'll be sure to read them when we return from the town." I said before taking a sip. 

"We might  not return until morning so I have you travelling with Winters and Nixon in an enclosed vehicle to the town. You can read them on the way, I'm sure you'll want to write back as soon as possible." he told me as I finished my drink. 

"I guess I'll do that, then. Thank you, sir. For everything." I told him. If only he knew how appreciative I was of this opportunity to be here. 

"I'll see you in the town, Sergeant Edwards." He said with a grin. I gave a salute- to  which he returned- before turning and leaving the office with the letters in hand. For now, I shoved them into my inside pocket with my cap before doing up my jacket and walking to the front gates where I met up with Nixon and Winters. 

"Evening, Sergeant Edwards." Winters greeted with a salute and a grin.

"Evening, lieutenants." I greeted, returning their salute. 

"Heard you're travelling with us." Nixon stated, taking a swig from his flask. 

"I guess so. " I said, not sure exactly what to say. 

"They want us to leave first so we can get there before the men so we'll be leaving in about 5 minutes. " Winters explained. 

"I have to go get a refill. Save a spot for me." Nixon said before walking away, leaving just Winters and myself in front of the vehicle, which I'm guessing is the one we were taking. 

"I'll be in the truck." I told Winters, tapping the hood and walking around to the side. He nodded and turned to look off somewhere I couldn't pin point. I noticed a group of the men pointing to the truck and talking among their little group. I noticed Gaurnere and Toye were in that group, but from a distance, I couldn't tell if they were angry with them or confused. I chose to ignore it and jumped in the backseat of the truck before taking one of the letters out of my jacket. It was the one from Roosevelt. 

_**"Sergeant Gabriella Edwards,** _

_**Colonel Sink has informed me about your achievements at the camp and I wish to inform you that everyone here in the oval office is damn proud of you. I wish you nothing but the best of luck as you go on to face even tougher challenges over in Europe. Upon your departure, we will inform your family and they will come collect your person items from your apartment and any money from the apartment being sold will go towards your family as well, per your request.** _

_**We, here, at the White House thank you for your dedication to your work and your country thanks you for your undying service. The eyes of the world and your country are upon you. You have our farewell, our best wishes of luck and you will remain in our thoughts as you fight for your country and your family.** _

_**We pray you return to us safe and sound once the war is done, where you will be rewarded for your service.** _

_**Signed,** _

_**President Franklin Roosevelt"** _

****I was so engrossed in the letter that I hadn't noticed Nixon and Winters had sat in the truck and we were on our way to the town. I neatly folded the letter and placed it back in the envelope before putting it back in my inside pocket and retrieving the second letter from my family. I tore it open, more eager to read it than I was for the presidential letter.

_**"Our dearest, Gabriella,** _

_**We heard from both Colonel Robert Sink and President Roosevelt of your accomplishments and we want you to know that we wish you the best of luck and we love you with all our hearts. We only ask that you be safe on your journey to Europe and be safe when you join the invasion. And come home to us in one piece and undoubtedly, alive. You've given young girls in the city someone to look up to and someone to idolize. For that, we are proud beyond belief. Words cannot describe how much we miss you and how much we want you to come home. But we know you'll be fine. We put our trust in our men to protect the country, so we put  our trust in the men to protect you, and you protect them.**_

_**We send you our love, encouragement and best wishes of luck on your journey.** _

_**With love,** _

_**Mom, Dad, Evelynn, Michael, Marie, Alice and Eliza."** _

****I smiled from ear to ear before folding the letter. I planted a slight kiss on the front before sliding it into the envelope and hiding it in my jacket with the first one. Oh, how I missed my family, especially my little Eliza, but they knew what I'm doing and they know how important it is for not only me, but for the country.

"Love letters?" Winters asked out of the blue. 

"One from the president, one from my family back home in upstate New York." I replied, still smiling. 

"Ah, I see. Just don't let Sobel see. He'll confiscate them like he did to one of the other lieutenants."  he warned me, half jokingly. I chuckled a bit, looking down at my boots. The rest of the drive went by quick, considering I was in my own little world the whole time; thinking about the letters and my family. When we arrived in the town, we were immediately directed to the hall where we would get our jump wings and promotions. I smiled the whole time, ignoring any questioning glances or stares from the townsfolk and other disbelieving officers. 

"Sergeant Edwards!" Someone called my name and I looked around for who it was. "Sergeant Edwards!" a young man called as he hurried over to where I was standing. 

"Yes, that  is me. How can I help you?" He wasn't an officer, or at least didn't look like he was in the army right this moment. 

"My god, it really is you." He said as he stopped in front of me, grinning just as wide as I was. "My father works for the president. He came home for his time off and would not stop talking about you and the commotion in the office. He said it was like an election with two parties battling it out, one side absolutely hated that  fact you were joining the  army and the  other half loved it. I have seven sisters so my father and I thought it was a lovely idea and especially someone with your skill and ability...I'm rambling aren't I?" he  finished, out of breath from talking rapidly. 

"A little bit." I laughed. "What was your father's name?" I asked, curious if I  knew him or not. 

"Joseph McLellon." the young man stated, standing up straight like saying his fathers name was something you said with pride. But I remembered the name. 

"Oh, I know him! He worked as the Vice Presidents head assistant. Is he around at all? I'd love to talk to him again." I questioned. Joseph and I always had the best, most interesting conversations on our breaks. 

"He is! He's helping set up the decorations over by the bar for after the ceremony. Follow me!" The young man cheered, but then stopped dead in his tracks before turning around. "Man, do I have terrible manners. I'm Keaton by the way." He said, shaking my hand before turning around and walking again. We made it to the bar where I saw Joseph standing on a foot ladder, hanging up the last of the banners. 

"Father! I brought someone to see you!" Keaton cheered, grabbing his fathers attention. Joseph looked at his son, but quickly spotted me. 

"Gabriella Edwards! You're here!" he exclaimed, stepping down from the ladder and approached me. 

"Hey, Joseph. How are you?" I said as we met in the middle with a hug. 

"I'm wonderful! How are you? Are those Sergeant stripes?" He gawked. 

"Yes, I got promoted before we arrived. " I told him, pulling my  sleeve forward a bit to show them off. 

"Wow, isn't that a change, eh? You went from taking orders from the president to being a total badass! How was camp?" He asked. 

"It is a change, but I like it. Camp was brutal, but I made it through. How's the wife? And the girls?" I questioned with a wide grin. 

"Oh, their wonderful! They told me to say hello for them." he said as Winters caught my  eye as he waved me over

"Well you tell them I said hello, too, alright. I gotta go. I'll see you two later, eh?" I said as they both nodded. I turned and followed Winters back into the main hall  where all the guys were starting to sit down in the neat rows of benches. I took my spot at the back of the room, standing against a wall. 

The night started out calm, Colonel Sink gave a grand speech about how he and the whole country was proud of us and thankful for our service. After his speech, each Company leader came up to announce the names, giving the men their turn to go up, get their jump  wings before sitting back down. I stood silently, only clapping when a name of Easy company was called because I knew them the most. I was called up closer to the end, but I didn't argue. I was a paratrooper now. All I had was to be grateful I was alive. 

After all the jump wings were handed out, promotions were given before the company leaders gave their speeches and let us go. A party was being held in the hall and the bar area for us all, but I waited until everyone else had left before I began to follow them in. 

"Gabriella, wait up a second!" someone called out. I turned to see who it was and to my possible demise, it was Sobel. 

"Good evening, sir." I said in salute. 

"Can I talk to  you outside for a minute?" He asked before turning towards the door. I followed, keeping  distance for the fact I didn't overly trust this man, especially not after the field drill we did and failed back at camp. His calls weren't confident and he always got nervous, we could all tell: wiping sweaty hands on his trousers, increased breathing, jumping at the slightest of sound. But once we were outside, he seemed to calm down a bit. 

"I'm going to be completely honest with you, Sergeant, but I wasn't all that confident you would make it this far when you joined my company in training." he said, looking out along the street before looking me dead in the eye. "But you proved me wrong. And for that you have my respect. " he finished, holding out his hand in a kind gesture. 

"Thank you, sir." I shook his hand with pride. I was starting to feel proud of myself now. Getting Sobel's respect was something not a lot of people at camp accomplished, so to gain it gave me even more confidence. 

"Now, go. Enjoy the party. I'll see you when we sail off to England." He said before standing in salute. I followed suit before he waved me off once more. I found my way inside the hall again. I received a few smiles- mainly from Winters, Nixon and a few of the men from Easy Company- which made me feel even better. Maybe they'll take me a bit more seriously now that I carry Sergeant stripes.

 _'No, Gabriella. You're letting pride get to your head. You know what that did to that  guy that got kicked out mid-session.'_ I had to stop and tell myself mentally. I took a few breathes at the door to the bar and cleared my mind before stepping through the door frame and scanning the room. It was packed with men from all nine companies; all of them were drinking and happy. 

"Gabi! Over here!" I heard someone shout over all the commotion. I spotted someone waving a hand at me, but their face was blocked by another person's head. I made my way slowly towards that table where Muck and Randleman were counting out loud as Gaurnere chugged his beer. Once he was finished, he had his jump wings in between his teeth. 

"Hi-ho! Silver!" he cheered, forcefully placing the glass on the table. He reattached his jump wings to his jacket before noticing I was there. 

"Hiya, Sergeant." he smiled as I stood at the end of the table. 

"Wait, what?" Muck questioned in disbelief. 

"Oh, you didn't know? Our girl over here got promoted. I heard it was the Colonel's and the Presidents idea." Gaurnere told the boys around them. I wasn't going to lie, but I had grown especially close with Guarnere and Toye since I showed up at camp. It took a while, but it seemed like they accepted me first.

"Well, would you look at that." Muck said, flicking the stripes on my arm. "Oh, hold on." He said before wiping my jump wings clean. "There! Dust-free jump wings and brand-new Sergeant stripes!" Muck said, the rest of us laughing. He was always trying to joke around every chance he got. It made the rest of us happy and having him around made us forget there was a war going on; at least in my eyes, that is. 

"Hey, why don't we got get a drink, eh?" Gaurnere said, standing up and grabbing his glass. He threw an arm over my shoulder like he did when him and Toye were showing me around camp so I guess I didn't really have a choice. As we approached the bar, he took a look around before turning to Joseph, who was acting as a barkeep. 

"Two, please, sir." he said and Joseph nodded. Joseph came back with two pints of beer from the tap. 

"Cheers!" Guarnere said before chugging half of it and setting it down on the bar. He took another look around before sighing. 

"What's up? You seem glum." I stated, setting my drink on the bar beside his. His stance changed from relaxed to alert in a matter of seconds which meant something was up. 

"Let's talk outside." he said, raising his voice so I would hear him over the crowd. I nodded and we grabbed our drinks before heading to the door. I followed close behind, which  is what I did now most days, just follow behind people. We managed to sneak past Sink and the other officers before we reached the cool air of the night. 

"So, what are we talking about?" I asked. I couldn't deny that I was in a good mood. A party was better than reading in my shack. I watched as Gaurnere downed the rest of his drink before leaving the glass on a window ledge. He motioned for us to walk down the street a bit. 

"There's been some talk between some of the boys. Toye and I over heard it. They don't like you being here." He said bluntly.  

"I figured as much." I mumbled, taking another sip of my beer. 

"It's worse than you think, Gabi. Some of these boys. They ain't right in the head like you and me. It's a good thing you lock the door to your shack or else you'd probably be dead, and half of our company would be headin' to prison." He explained, lighting up a smoke. I stopped on the spot, trying to comprehend what he was saying. He noticed and stopped walking as well. 

"What exactly are they saying?" I questioned, setting my half empty glass on the nearest ledge. 

"I haven't heard all of it. But I heard them speaking today before we left camp. They don't think you're fit to be Sergeant, Gabi." He said before taking in a drag. After training with these men for almost a year, I figured at least I'd be on their good side enough that they wouldn't see me as a threat. Now, I saw them a more of a threat. 

"And what do you think?" I asked him, placing my hands in the pockets of my trousers. I trusted Bill more than anyone here, probably because he always seemed to show up at the right time to throw an arm over my shoulder and drag me out of a sticky situation. 

"Well, if it was up to me you'd be leading this goddamn Company, not Sobel." He said with a chuckle, like he was trying to change the mood of the conversation. "You got something he doesn't. I'd rather see Sobel get kicked out rather than you. Hell, I don't know what you do, but I'd follow you into combat any day." my heart seemed to flutter at his statement. I, for one, didn't think I was nearly as good as Winters. My opinion was that Winters should be taking Sobel's place and Nixon taking Winters' old spot. 

"Why are you telling me this?" I questioned once more. Now I was confused. A few days ago, he wasn't talking to me and earlier today he seemed to be joining in on the others' conversations about me. There were so many mixed signals being thrown at me, I didn't know what to say or think really. 

"I'm being honest. You're the best friend I got in this damn company. I trust you." He admitted, walking over and picking up my drink. "You gonna drink this?" I shook my head no, only thinking about what he's told me so far. He downed it in one go while I was still trying to comprehend. "I told Toye about it. You ever have a problem you can't handle alone, you come to us. I don't want to see you getting hurt, or worse." He said, finishing his smoke and putting it out on the ledge my drink was on. I finally got what he was trying to get at, and it terrified me more than one would know. I knew exactly what _worse_ meant in a company of men who hadn't been home for over two years. 

"Who all was it?" He looked at me confused. "The guys talking." By now, my arms moved from my pockets to a crossed position in front of me.

"Mainly the guys from Fox and Dog Company. I guess they don't like that a girl can do better than them in training in less time than they had." Gaurnere looked at the ground and then up at me. "Once we get to Europe, its free game, you know that right? The army can't lose more than they already will over one girl." 

"Your point being?" I inquired. I had to refrain myself from getting angry. It wasn't his fault. And for the most part it was my fault for even being here. 

"I'm just saying, if you want, you can stick with Toye and I on the boat to England and even when we get there. You ever find yourself alone, you come find us. You got too much potential for this goddamn war than any of the men in that hall. You best believe it, too." He said, pointing a stern finger at me. 

"Everybody says that. I don't get it." I muttered, awkwardly shifting on the spot. I guess I didn't have too much pride nowadays to notice I was usually at the top of the ranks. 

"You don't see it?" He questioned, his expression and tone going from serious to puzzled. 

"Not really. As I see it, I'm just as good as the rest of you. Just shorter." I said, holding up my fingers separated by about an inch, causing Gaurnere to laugh. I laughed with him until it wasn't funny anymore and silence fell upon us. The street was empty and only light came from dimly lit street posts that flickered like candles, although I'm sure they weren't. 

"Come on. Let's get back before anyone suspects anything." he said with a goofy wink. I let out a small laugh as I turned around to the direction of the building. Guarnere threw his arm over my shoulders once more as we strolled back to the building. Nixon was standing outside having a smoke by the door as we rounded the street corner. 

"Where'd you two go?" He asked as we came into range. 

"Out for a stroll on this beautiful night." He answered before spotting his glass on a window ledge. His arm hooked around my neck as he stepped and reached for it, dragging me along with him in a more playful manner. Nixon rolled his eyes before going back inside himself, the two of us following shortly behind. Nixon went one way and we went another before Colonel Sink stopped us. 

"Evening, you two." He greeted with a salute.

"Evening, sir." We said in unison, returning the salute. 

"Gaurnere, why don't you go back to the bar and freshen up that drink. I have to speak with Sergeants Edwards for a moment." he told him. 

"Alright." he sighed, taking his arm off my shoulder. "You know where to find me." He told me before walking back into the busy hall. 

"I see you two have grown closer." Colonel stated, raising a suggestive eyebrow. I turned to face him in surprise. 

"Oh, no. T-there's nothing g-going on between us. We just went for a walk. He told me some stuff about what some of the guys are saying about me, that's all." I explained, worried he might have gotten the wrong impression. 

"That's what I've come here to talk to you about. I also heard what they've been saying and I want you to know that they've been dealt with. They're being transferred out of this regiment and being replaced by some other fellas from a different regiment. I won't tolerate any of that nonsense in my groups. And with that, I warn you: I will not have any close and personal relationships either. Especially once we're in England and eventually behind enemy lines. " Colonel Sink told me as I stood half at attention. 

"Completely understood, sir. Gaurnere is just a friend who was looking out for me." I  said calmly. 

"Good. Now I know you're a paratrooper now and you deserve to be at this party, but I want you to go back to camp, write back to the President and your family. They'd be glad to hear from you again." He told me before simply walking away. Another officer came over and escorted me to a vehicle that took me back to camp. This was probably for my own safety, but I couldn't lie, I was pretty tired.

I wrote to the president that night, but I didn't write to my family just yet. I wrote a letter on  the train to the shipyard, unsure if I was going to see them or not before I left. Unfortunately, they weren't notified of my departure so close to home until it was too late, so I  left a letter at the postal office before we boarded. 

_**To my dearest family,** _

_**I write this a couple days before my departure of the shipyard with intentions of seeing you lot before I set sail with my friends. As you probably know from the outcome of that day, you'd know we did not get to bid each  other farewell  in person. But, I reassure you, I am in good  hands. You shall receive a letter in a few days time from Captain Herbert Sobel. I will set sail and follow him into battle  when we drop into France.** _

_**I want you to know that I have friends with me that I know will look after me, as I will look after them for their families. Bill Gaurnere and Joe Toye are my closest friends since I arrived at Camp Toccoa about a year ago. I know I can trust them and they seem to trust  me. As I write this, they're asleep on the train next to me. I have a few other friends I can rely on, but aren't that close with. Warren Muck is quite the comedian, always cheering us up when we're down, except when it involves a certain commanding officer. Don Malarkey and Alex Penkala don't seem to mind me here either. There a couple others I've met that don't seem to mind me, but I won't mention names.**_

_**I hope my darling Eliza is safe in your care while I am gone, like she has been since before I left. I trust you won't let her forget about me until I shall return.** _

_**With this, I hope you can trust that I am in good hands as I begin a journey to Europe, one of which I wish to come home from. But I guess we'll have to see, won't we.** _

_**With love,** _

_**Yours truly,** _

_**Gabriella Edwards.** _

 

 ~End of Chapter 2~


	3. England, Here We Come!

**Gabriella's POV**  
  
~~  
  
The ship was jam packed with men going over seas to England. The bunks were small, and looked uncomfortable. There was two side-by-side, all the way up and all the way across the small area. The room was so foggy from all the smokes my eyes had begun to burn. The men were scattered, trying to snag the last open bunk. I followed Gaurnere. He had a hold on one of the unimportant straps on my life vest. He claimed it was so he didn't lose me in a crowd. 

"Here!" He exclaimed, throwing his bag on an empty bunk. "You take that one closest to the wall." he said. It was about the third bunk up, which meant we still had to climb to get to them. I threw my bag up first before climbing up the welded on metal posts. I crawled over the bunks, moving my bag to act a pillow. Gaurnere crawled into his bunk after me before Toye climbed up to the bunk directly in front of Gaurnere. Malarkey had snagged the bunk before mine, his bag partially resting on mine, and another guy from one of the other companies at my feet. 

"Well, isn't this cozy, eh, Gabi." Gaurnere grinned, sprawling out across his bunk, throwing his leg onto my bunk. 

"Yeah, totally." I said, my voice laced with sarcasm as I flipped over to get my book out of my bag before laying back on my back. From then on, I mostly ignored the guys before we were alerted that we were leaving the dock. We all felt the ship rattle and creak before it lunged into the sea. Once we felt that the ship was smooth sailing, everyone went back to do whatever the hell they were doing before. I read my book quietly, ignoring  all the guys and their talk. I rolled onto my side, facing the wall with my back turned to the commotion. I didn't get much sleep on the train since I was writing my letter and reading to finish the last book I had. Eventually, my eye lids began to droop, so I closed my book and tucked it under my bag before shutting my eyes. I had gotten used to drowning out the constant noise so it didn't take me long to fall asleep, even in this condition. 

~

Half asleep, I heard the sound of a fight being broken up- probably caused by either Gaurnere or one of the guys from Dog Company. Now being half asleep, I could here and feel what was going on around me, but wasn't awake enough to react to anything- even if I felt something lightly brush over my nose. 

"Hey! Piss off, will ya! Let her sleep!" Someone shouted at someone else before I fell back into complete sleep. 

 

~~

 

**Gaurnere's POV**

~  
  
After the brawl between Liebgott and I got split up, I went back to my bunk. Only to see one of the pricks from Dog Company messing with Gabi while she slept. 

"Hey! Piss off, will ya! Let her sleep." I yelled at him and he retreated easily before getting kicked in the head by Malarkey. I crawled back into my bunk, Liebgott glaring at me from across the way. I shrugged it off, knowing he would loosen up in a while. I lit up another smoke as I stared at the bottom of the bunk above me. Everyone else around us was either arguing with each other or laughing with each other. Malarkey had taken off too another part of the bunker, probably to find Muck or Penkala. 

"How long was I asleep?" I heard Gabi mumbled, rolling around on her bunk and rubbing her eyes. 

"Probably only about an hour. One of the guys from Dog Company was messing with you, but Malarkey kicked him in the head so I doubt he'll mess with you now. " I told her. 

"Nice. Was he knocked out?" She questioned, pushing her hair back, out of her face. 

"Unfortunately not, but I heard he whined to some of his bunk mates after." Toye said, popping his head down from his bunk. 

"Fucking coward." she chuckled to herself. 

"You got that right." Toye added before going back up to his bunk. 

 

**-Time Skip-**

 

 **Gabriella's POV**  
  
~  
  
When we arrived in England, most of us were so used to the soft rocking of the ship that standing on flat, non-moving ground was almost like a new concept to us. Some of the men even fell down and Gaurnere was one of them. 

"You good, Bill?" I asked, leaning forward and placing a hand on his shoulder. 

"I feel funny." He mumbled, color draining from his face. 

"Let's keep you moving so you don't die before we get to camp." I said, hooking my arms under his and hauling him up to his feet. I slung one of his arms over my shoulders and wrapped an arm around his waist. 

"Keep it moving men! Find you company leaders and they will lead you to your stations! Keep it moving!" an officer instructed us as we searched for Sobel or even Winters and Nixon. Those two were never too far apart. 

Instead of finding Sobel, Winters or Nixon, we found Toye and Luz before we found the truck that was taking us to camp. We all had our bags and gear on our laps and in between our feet for the hour long drive. Except none of us were prepared for what they had waiting for us. 

As soon as we got to camp, we were immediately instructed to put our gear in our shacks and report to the field where, over the course of five days, we participated in fox hole digging lectures (where we dug a fox hole while a staff sergeant lectured us about what ever else), classroom lectures, target practice and weapons training, field maneuver training and  other physical training. Gaurnere and a couple other guys from other companies were promoted to Sergeant as well. At one point, Sobel made a fool out of Easy Company when he got lost and let Luz trick him into thinking Major Horton was there, instructing him to cut the fence to a pasture full of malnourished cows. After, there was the confusion about losing Winters to mess kitchen while they waited for his court martial. Gaurnere and a few others didn't like that so they handed in resignation letters to Colonel Sink, so which one of the mean there got moved out  of the regimen and another bumped down to private. I was lucky Gaurnere got off easy like the rest of them because I don't know what I'd do if he got shipped off back to America. Toye was always disappearing every now and then. 

Colonel Sink called me into his office after he let them go to tell me to keep an eye on them and to report any suspicious behavior towards the Company, the regimen or to the high ups. Needless to say, I was the first one to tell the Company about the good news for us, but bad news for Sobel. 

~

"Everybody listen up! Sergeant Edwards has something to say!" One of the majors announced, getting the attention of Easy Company. He moved out of the way and I took his place. 

"I have news from Colonel Sink about the leadership in Easy Company. Captain Sobel was been transferred out of command of Easy Company and will be replaced by Lieutenant Meehan from Baker Company." I explained in a calm and controlled tone of voice. Some men groaned while others cheered. A couple 'hallelujahs' were heard among the crowd. "Colonel Sink has told me that he expects the same behavior for Lieutenant Meehan as we did for Captain Sobel. That will be all." I finished before taking my original spot off to the side while the Major came back up to the front to dismiss the men. 

~

The next morning, we packed up and loaded the trucks on our way to Upottery Airfield. Everyone was nervous; some were just better at hiding it than others. Me, on the  other hand, kept a straight face the whole time. I kept calm and collected because I knew the second I showed any sort of fear, I would get called out on it and I would be exposed to humility. 

"Hey! Earth to Gabi." Gaurnere said, waving a hand in front of my face as I snapped out of my trance. 

"What did I miss?" I asked, adjusting the bag hung over my shoulder. 

"Just the trucks leaving. " He said before starting to walk off. Not knowing where to go, I followed. We stopped at Winters where we split us into groups for our jump. Next was equipment check; everything was laid out on the ground in our designated areas where our group leader would check and then double check. Once more, I was used as an example. 

"Every single one of your spots should look like this one for checking. We do not gear up until everybody's equipment looks like this." I looked down at my knees as that was said, my cheeks heating up. I looked up with my eyes and saw others roll their eyes at me. 

I fiddled with my laces as I waited for the next instructions. I heard Toye complaining about the amount of equipment we needed. 

"This stuff weighs as much as me! How the hell do they expect us to drop into Normandy with all this shit!" he complained before Gaurnere came up and smacked him in the back of the head. 

"Look at Gabi! She's the smallest one here and you don't hear her complaining." he told him, pointing a hand over at me. I looked up in surprise. 

"I'm dying inside." I blurted out, getting a laughing reaction from Toye and a couple others around us. Gaurnere sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose dramatically. 

"You're not helping me prove my point." he said as the others laughed some more. I smiled innocently up at him before giggling a little bit. A moment later, he gave up and joined us. 

"Alright, pack up!" We were commanded and we packed our supplies into packs and organized our chutes. I made sure my jacket was on before I strapped myself into my chute. 

"Hey, Gabriella. Come help me with this." Toye said, struggling with a twisted strap. I stood up, my chute attached tightly to my back. I found the beginning of the strap and untwisted it until it was straightened out. I pulled on the loose end to tighten it around his torso. 

"Is that good?" I asked. He nodded in response as I did the same to the strap around his leg. 

"Thanks." he muttered before picking up the second pack and strapping it to his chest. I went back to my gear and did the same before we were all tossed another pack that attached to our leg. 

"Great, more shit." Toye complained. 

"You wanna drop into Normandy unprepared?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow at him. 

"Define unprepared." He sassed back. 

"Yeah, define unprepared. Do educate us." One of the other men from another group said as he walked by. 

"Why don't you do us all a favor and shut your trap, son." Gaurnere stepped up but I waved him off. 

"If you must know, being unprepared would mean one of two things: not ready to do something or not willing to do something. That choice would be up to you. Are you not willing or not ready to accept I'll be jumping into Normandy with you." I told the man in a calm voice. 

"Oh shit." Toye coughed as Gaurnere and a couple others chuckled under their breathes. 

"I- uh..." the man stuttered, turning red in the face. 

"That's what I thought." I concluded, turning away from him. Gaurnere was smiled and placed his hands over his heart. 

"They grow up so fast." he said like a proud mother watching her kid stand up for themselves, he even wiped a fake tear for added drama. 

"Maybe you should be an actor instead of a soldier." Luz said, patting Gaurnere on the shoulder as he passed, causing the rest of us to bust out laughing. We finished packing up before putting on our camouflage paint on our faces and went to find Winters instead, we were called to an assembly area. 

"The forecast calls for rain and fog. No jump tonight!" one of the majors informed us. We all groaned before going back to our sights and unpacking all our gear from our bodies. 

"I think I'll join Toye in complaining next time we have to suit up again." I mentioned, trying to wipe the paint off my face with my sleeve. 

"Count me in." Luz muttered as he passed us. We shook all our gear off and cleaned our faces. There were going to be picture shows being shown in some tents while we waited out the weather. Gaurnere and them went, but I  didn't. I grabbed my jacket and my book and found a quiet  place to read as the  sun began to set. I was close to finishing the book so by the time it was dark out, I finished the last page and shut it quietly. That  was the last book I had access to while here. I brought  it to a communications tent and asked them to send it back to my family after I wrote something in the front page. I paid the communications officer a few coins before leaving. I remembered which  tent Gaurnere went to so I decided I would go catch the  rest of the film with them. 

I stood at the back of the tent, no one noticed me which was good. I stood for a a few minutes, not really paying attention to the film, before I saw someone stand up and stumble out of the rows of  chairs. I couldn't see who it was until the last second when they ran out in a hurry. Confused, I followed to see if they were alright. It was pitch black out now, except for the occasional lamp here and there. I watched as they stumbled around like they couldn't quite see where they were going. They stopped at a keg barrel with a lamp on top. 

"Hey, you alright?" I asked as I approached slowly. They turned around, saw it was me before standing up straight. "Bill? What's wrong?" I asked, stepping closer until there was a solid foot in between us. 

"Nothing, I'm fine." he said, not making eye contact. 

"You're a terrible liar." I stated. 

"I told you, I'm fine." he snapped. "Just..go back to the tent and finished watching the movie or something." he said softer, rubbing a hand over his face while the other rested on the barrel, holding him up. 

"You ran out of there pretty fast. That obviously means somethings wrong." I said, stepping back a bit more. 

"And how would you know?" he snapped again. Except this time, his expression didn't soften which meant I was probably pushing my boundaries. 

"Because I did that a lot when I was younger. I think I would know." he turned to look at me with sad eyes before turning away. 

"Do you know where Monte Cassino is?" he asked, sniffling a bit. 

"Italy I think. Why?" 

"My brother was there." he said before finally breaking down. "He's dead, he fucking dead." he cried, falling to his knees. I didn't say anything, mainly because I wasn't sure what to say. I knelt down beside him and wrapped my arms around him, pulling him closer in a sympathetic hug. He let go of his  hair and gripped my arm until I saw some people coming out of tents. 

"Come on, let's go somewhere else. There's people coming." I whispered to him before we got up and hid behind a tree somewhere. We sat down, Gaurnere just beginning to calm down. We sat side by side, his head resting on my shoulder with my left arm wrapped around his shoulder for once. I let the side of my head rest on his and he fiddled with my other hand. The occasional sniffle escaped him before he fell asleep like this. I, on the other hand, stayed up most of the night making sure we weren't spotted or he didn't disappear. It was clear that he didn't want to talk about his brother's death, more so he just needed some understanding company, which I was more than willing to give. 

I must have fallen asleep early in the morning because I was woken up by the sound of our alarm that told us to get ready for the jump. Gaurnere was up and gone before I could even comprehend what was going on. I managed to catch up to him as we met up with the rest of our crew.

"Where'd you two go off to last night?" Toye asked, and before Gaurnere could say anything, I told Toye it wasn't his business. No one said a word after that. Many of us were still pissed off at the weather for postponing the jump. We packed up in silence, Gaurnere nowhere to be seen. I felt bad for him. He didn't really talk about his brother much so I didn't even knew he had a brother until last night. 

"Hey, Gabriella. What's up with Gaurnere? He seems off." Toye asked, pointing over to Gaurnere who was talking to Johnny. 

"It's not my place to say. If he wants you to know, he'll tell you. Until then, just leave him alone for a bit." I said. The sympathy in my voice wasn't so subtle anymore. 

"I'm takin' a guess and say its family stuff." Toye concluded before grabbing one of the straps to my chute that was muddled up on my shoulder. "You've got the same problem I had yesterday." he said, fixing the problem before I adjusted one of the straps on his chute. 

"And I see you still have that problem." I stated, poking fun at him. We finished packing up and putting our paint on in silence. Gaurnere joined us just before we sat down in our rows. An officer told us what Doc Roe was handing out to us. 

"If there's one thing I hate about planes, it's motion sickness." Toye said, gratefully taking one of the small packs Doc was handing out. We took our motion sickness cures as we were told before stuffing them in which ever pocket was empty. Winters wished us good luck before helping us up in order. That's when the mood changed. The atmosphere around us was almost sickening. I felt sick just thinking about what we were jumping into. Of course, no one knew exactly what we were jumping into. We just had to be prepared. The worst thing that could happen after we jump was getting shot down before or after your exit the plane. 

Once everyone was on the plane and in their seats, the pilots went through the mandatory engine check as the propellers rumbled the plane as they started. Everyone was quiet as the planes moved slowly across the airfield in perfect order. Lucky for me, I had Gaurnere to my left, Toye directly across from me and Muck to my right. We were past shoulder to shoulder by now. It was more like trying to fuse into conjoined twins. And I felt tired seeing how I didn't get much sleep the night before, but the adrenaline pumping through my veins was enough to wake a hospital ward full of sleeping babies just by being within 20 feet of them. And being significantly shorter than most of the men, trying to stay on the bench was a bit of a challenge. But I guess it gave me something to think about other than my fast approaching demise. 

Every now-and-then, the plane would rumbled through a patch of turbulence before going smooth again. I noticed Winters was sitting next to the  door. I  didn't know why he  would want to, I mean, one wrong move when the plane hits turbulence and he's gone. So long to our sanity! But Winters knew was he was doing, so I wasn't too concerned about it. What I was concerned about was what would  happen to Gaurnere when we come into contact with the Nazis. Gaurnere was unpredictable so we really didn't know if he was going to coward away (not wanting to end up like his brother) or if he was going to go crazy (wanting to avenge his brothers death). Either of those had equal chances of happening until I figured out another reckless thing he could do. 

The plane was dark and gloomy looking, which only made our anxiety spike. Our landing spot coming up faster than we cared to admit didn't help either. My palms were sweating, which confused me. The last time my palms sweat this bad was when we heard the war had  officially begun after Pearl Harbor. I wiped them on my pants in a downward motion towards my knees- hoping to make it less obvious that I was ultimately scared beyond belief. Working in the White House meant I needed to know who I was, I was never this scared for anything. And yet, in my  defense, I  had never been in a plane about to jump into  a bloody  war zone. I took my mind of my fear by examining the faces of the men around me. Except they all felt the same way: scared and nervous. Most of them probably wanted to be with their families, and I didn't blame them. Being cuddled up all snugly warm in my apartment seemed like paradise. Getting to hold my little Eliza in my arms again was a dream. Being engulfed in a hug from my mother felt like heaven right about now. I tried to remember the sound of her voice telling me it'd be okay, instead, I was bombarded by the memory of her telling me everything would be okay the day she got sick. Fortunately, she got  better and I was relieved by the memory of her saying, "I told you everything would be okay,". I suddenly felt bad for Gaurnere's mother. She was probably alone with  both of her sons gone, one forever and the other undetermined. 

I glanced over to see Gaurnere's hand shaking horribly against his knee. I could instantly tell he was thinking about his brother and what would happen to him once we landed in Normandy. Without a second thought, I reached over and clutched his hand.  He glanced at me and I gave him a sympathetic smile. I watched as the corner of his mouth twitch up before he looked back down at the floor.  He didn't try to push my hand away like I thought he would, instead he only held on tighter than I was. There was no movement from anyone the rest of the flight. Needless to say, we stayed  hand in hand until we heard the sounds of war getting closer. The flash of exploding bombs and gunfire lit up the sky. The plane rocked even more now as the pilot tried  to prevent us from getting hit. Out of the corner of my  eye, I saw the red light  turn on by the door before Winters told  us to get ready and eventually, hook up. I was behind Gaurnere and Toye, respectively, in line with one other behind me and then Muck. My footing was off by a long shot as the plane rocked through more turbulence and everyone bumped into each other. We were already hooked onto the line, so it didn't take  much- except for balance- to get back up when we fell down, which everyone did. 

"Equipment check!" Winters called out over the sound of the engines and the war going on below  us. 

"12 okay!"

"11 okay!" 

"10 okay!" 

"9 okay!"

"8 okay!"

"7 okay!" 

"6 okay!"

"5 okay!" 

"4 okay!"

"3 okay!"

"2 okay!"

"1 okay!"

"Stand in the door!"

"Go! Go! Go! GO! Go! Go! Go! GO!" I felt like puking as we shuffled closer to the door. I saw Gaurnere raise his fist over his shoulder to Toye in a fist bump before swinging his arm back, past Toye. I bumped his fist before he moved up to the door and jumped out and then Toye and then  me. I  felt the tug of the parachute being released as I free fell before being yanked back up when my parachute fully deployed. I did everything I was trained to do except no amount of training could prepare me for what happened next.

As I saw the ground coming closer and closer, I  held tighter and tighter to the ropes connecting my parachute to me until something whistled past my head and I felt myself falling faster. I looked up and saw a hole or two the size of quarters in my chute material. 

"Fuck!" I cursed out loud as I was blown off course towards a treeline. My fall speed increased as the wind rushing through the holes made it bigger bit by bit. I braced myself for impact as I fell right through  the top of a tree, hitting close to every branch of my way down. I let out a yelp as I stopped moving when my chute got snagged and caught in the tree. The branches around me made it difficult to move my  legs up towards my hand or move my hand towards my leg where I kept a knife in my boot. I tried to released the chute pack, but nothing would budge. 

"God-fucking-dammit!" I cursed once more as I tried loosening the straps and wriggle out of this tangled mess, but it only made it worse. Something was pulling on something and that second something was starting to pull itself around my neck. I stopped moving, close to admitting defeat. I couldn't reach  the knives in my boots and I couldn't reach my bayonet blade either. 

"How the  fuck did I screw up this bad?" I asked myself out loud, pulling the something away from my neck. The shaking of the tree and its branches stopped and the only sound was distant firepower. I listened for any footsteps coming my way, but I figured it would be a long while before anyone found me; Nazi or American. 

"Flash!" Someone whispered from down below, which brought my attention back. 

"Thunder!" me and one other voice said in unison. 

"Muck! It's you. But where did that other voice come from?" someone asked. 

"Try looking up." I said, holding what ever it was away from my neck so I could breath. 

"Gabriella? How the hell did you get up there?" the person asked. I heard them shift their rifle around. 

"Wait. Did you say Gabriella was up there?" Another voiced chimed in. I did my best to look down and saw Muck, Martin and Toye down below. 

"How's it hanging?" Muck asked, stifling a laugh. 

"You're soooo funny, Muck." Toye groaned before smacking him in the head. 

"Will you stop fighting and get me down!" I hissed at them. "I can't reach any of my blades."

"Just give us a minute, we can't see shit." Martin told me, getting out a knife before more foot steps were heard followed by someone saying 'flash' again followed by what I think was Muck replying 'thunder'. 

"It's Gonorrhea! And Randleman and Perconte!" Martin exclaimed, but quiet enough to not blow our cover. 

"Yo, who's stuck up in that tree?" I heard  Gaurnere ask as they walked out of the  bushes.

"Our girl, Gabriella. Seems like she got herself in quite the mess up there." Toye said, pointing a dim light  up at me. 

"I'm kind of suffocating up here, so if you goons could hurry up and get me down that would be much appreciated." I growled, the something around my neck starting to hurt my fingers as I kept it away from my neck. 

"Shit, just hold on Gabi. We'll get you down." Gaurnere told me. "Shut that light off before you alert the crouts we're here." A couple of them began to climb the tree I was stuck in before reaching where I was. 

"Damn, you got quite the tangle-up." Gaurnere stated, motioning for Perconte to give him a blade. He started cutting ropes that were free dangling before he cut the something that was trying to suffocate me. 

"Hey, get ready to catch a falling human." he warned the others on the ground before cutting away at the straps around my legs and hitting the release device on the chute pack. I fell down from the tree, trying to catch another branch to either slow myself down or catch myself, but neither happened and I was left to trust the guys on the ground. Thankfully, Randleman caught me before I smacked my skull off the cold dirt below. 

"Thanks." I muttered as he set me on my feet. 

"No problem. How'd you even get in this mess in the first place." He asked. I looked up at the bundle of shit I was in a second ago and sighed. 

"Someone shot a hole in my chute after I jumped. Got blown off course after that and fell through a tree." I told them, noticing my gun was muddled up in that mess. I still had my fathers pistol with me which was good, but I didn't want to use it because it had limited bullets, but if I had to, I would. I just didn't tell anyone about it. Gaurnere and Perconte climbed down from the tree and we began to move farther into the forest towards our muster point with Winters. Except it was pitch black out and no one could see anything except for what was within five feet in front of their face and the ground. Gaurnere and I led the group, mainly  because we were Sergeants, while the rest of them followed low and close behind. We came up to a big creak or a small river, which  ever one you would prefer. Gaurnere stopped the group as we listened. Footsteps on the other side of the river were soft and careful. Gaurnere looked back  at me in question. I only shrugged. He turned back to try and peer through a bush we crouched behind. 

"Flash!" he called quietly. 

"Thunder!" Someone else replied as the footsteps stopped. I followed as Gaurnere stood up and left the cover of the river ridge. 

"Winters, ain't we glad to see you." He said as the rest of the group followed  us across the water to where  Winters and another group of men were crouched. They stood up as we got closer. 

"Is this everyone you found?" he asked, looking back to the  coverage we were hiding behind. 

"We'd have one less if we hadn't found Edwards hanging by her chute in a tree." Perconte told him, earning me a questioning glance from Winters.

"Someone shot my chute, I can't do anything about that."  I  defended. Winters opened his mouth  to say something before one of his guys came rushing out of another treeline, almost getting himself shot. 

"Winters, we got a problem." He  said as we followed him to a bridge-like structure. We sat silently until the sound of a horse-drawn carriage was heard getting closer.

"Wait for my command, then shoot." Winters told us before waving some guys to the other side of the road, I was one of them. I took a position directly across from Gaurnere, just lower to the  ground due to the lack of vegetation coverage. I watched as the carriage and the dozen men walking around it came closer. Cargo seemed to be crates of supplies. Why the Germans were trying to transport goods while we invaded Normandy was beyond me. I waited as they slowly got closer...and closer....and closer. Winters was about to give his command to shoot, but my fear came true when Gaurnere started shooting early, killing half of the  squad within seconds as the others followed, killing the rest. 

Winters was livid once the last shot was fired, but it didn't come from Gaurnere like I had thought. While the rest of the men reloaded, I stepped forward, ready to stop a fight between Winters and Gaurnere if it happened. 

"When I say wait for my command, you wait for my command, Sergeant." Winters growled at him, but Gaurnere only stared him down. The silence between the two was unnerving until Winters stepped down, and told us to keep moving. Gaurnere stayed more towards the back of the pack this time while I followed closer to Winters. As a friend, I was concerned for what could happen if he pulled this stunt again. 

~

As morning rolled around, we found our way to the village where the Dog, Fox and the rest of Easy Company were found hanging out until we got there. Winters went to meet up with Nixon and Buck while Muck and Malarkey went to find Penkala. Toye and I stayed together while we let Gaurnere cool off for a bit on his own.

"Look what I found!" Toye cheered, holding up four bottles of beer. Sharing his happy find, he handed two to me and I instantly cracked one open before chugging half of it. 

"Hallelujah!" I cheered before finishing off the  first one and opening the next. 

"Easy there, tiger. Don't get too carry away we're moving out in 10." Nixon said, stopping me from drinking the second one in a single shot. Ironically enough, he took a swig from his flask not even a second after. 

"Hypocrite." I muttered before we all bust out laughing. 

"I heard you got stuck in a tree after the jump." Nixon stated after managing to calm down a bit. 

"Yeah, and then Gonorrhea had to cut her down. Good think Randleman was there to catch  ya' before you died on us" Luz told him, coming up to our little triangle. 

"And how would you know?" Toye questioned suspiciously.

"Word spreads fast around here. Everyone got a kick out of it." Luz laughed, pointing over his back to where the rest of Easy Company sat around a fountain or a statue. 

"Glad to be of such service." I said before finishing my last beer. We laughed a bit more before we were called to attention as a major explained our next task. There were guns pinning down some of our men and we had to go destroy them. We packed up within minutes before we were on the  move again. We split up into our own squads before we even left. 

Upon our arrival, we relied on stealth for the first part. Winters ordered us to not give away our position unless we had to. I sat quietly, crouched behind a tree until someone from our squad started firing. I peeked around and saw an opening on one of the canons and began firing at the Germans commanding it. Machine guns pinned a bunch of us down so I switched from the canon to the guns so our boys could get there to destroy it. 

We moved to the trenches towards a gun. I heard a scream of absolute pain. I turned on my heel to see Popeye on the ground and Toye trying to help him. Winters shot one of the crouts above us but not before he could throw a grenade that landed near Toye.

"Toye! Look out!" I shouted, starting to run towards him and Popeye, but as it blew up, someone grabbed the back of  my jacket, pulling me back. I landed on the ground, my  spine landing right on top of a piece of wood embedded in the mud. I looked up to see Gaurnere shooting at Germans above us. 

"You trying to get blown up?" he yelled over the sound of constant gunfire. I looked over to see Toye and Popeye alright and moving. Without a word, I got up and shot at Germans while Gaurnere reloaded until he stood up beside me and began firing again. 

"We gotta move!" Winters shouted as we moved into the cover of a gun pit where we watched as Malarkey ran out into the open field and began searching a dead crout, probably for a lugger he promised his kid brother  he'd get if he found one. 

"Hiya, cowboy!" Gaurnere shouted. I was confused at first until one of the newcomers retorted. 

"Shut your fucking guinea trap, Gonorrhea!" Gaurnere just laughed. 

"He's alright that kid!" I looked at him in disbelief. This is what he was doing amidst all the fighting.  

~

Back at the village we were stationed at, everyone tried getting their shit together. While others were drinking, smoking and heating up cans of food, others were pitying their friends who either died like Hall or got injured like Popeye. I, on the other hand, was sitting quietly in my own dark corner. There was no light  allowed tonight. And if you needed light, you had to cover yourself with a rain jacket or some other type of material to mask it. I  didn't need to, because I didn't need light. I didn't eat, merely because I wasn't hungry. I only drank water from a closed barrel I found in one of the buildings before nightfall. I knew where Gaurnere and Toye were if I needed them, but right now I didn't need anyone except myself. 

I sat on a blanket I had found and thought about all that happened in the last 24 hours; from getting stuck in a tree to watching in fear a grenade land near Toye- twice. I thought  about why  Gaurnere pulled me back like he did when I ran towards Toye and Popeye in that trench. 

"You look down." someone said as they approached me. I  grabbed the gun I had stolen from a dead crout in case of worse case scenario, but immediately relaxed when I saw half of Gaurnere's face, illuminated by the moonlight above us. "Why you sitting on the ground?" he asked, leaning against the big crate beside me. I looked down at my leg that was resting over my bag. I could see the white bandaging through the hole in my pants where I was cut by a piece of wood sticking out of the trench. 

"I don't know. Seemed like a good hiding spot." I said, realizing no one saw me as they passed by me in the dark. 

"Here. You want something to eat? I snagged the left over stew Malarkey made in an empty ammunition case." He told me, holding out a metal pan while pointing back to a truck that had smoke protruding out from  under the flap. I figured I should probably eat something tonight. I leaned forward to accept his generous gift. 

"Thanks." I muttered, leaning back against the wall. After finishing his smoke, Gaurnere sat down on the blanket beside me and I slowly picked at the stew. "The ammunition case really brings out the flavor." I said, jokingly; my mouth  half full with food. Gaurnere chuckled a bit. 

"Hey, you got anyone special back home?" he asked, out of the  blue. 

"No. My work always got in the way of that kind of stuff. Why?" I replied. 

"You're just so damn cute, it's a shame no ones snatched you up, yet." He said  trying to hide a grin. 

"Bill, what the hell are you talking about?" I questioned, setting the pan on top of the crate beside me. 

"I don't even know anymore." He mumbled before getting giggly. 

"Oh. My. God." I mumbled under my  breath. He looked up at me, confused. 

"What? Do I  have something on my face?" 

"You're a giggly drunk aren't you?" I asked, making a quick assumption. 

"Who said anything about me being drunk?" He argued, leaning back in shock that I would even assume what I did. 

"Come here." I said, grabbing his chin and bringing his face closer. His pupils weren't dilated so he obviously wasn't that drunk. "What's gotten into you tonight? Inhale a little too much gun powder? Oxygen ain't getting to your brain?" I questioned, letting go of his face. 

"What are _you_ talking about?" he retorted. "And how could you tell I've been drinking?" He asked, getting slightly frightened. 

"Because the last guy to ask me if I had someone special at home was pissing himself drunk. He was also really loopy." I explained, earning a look consisting of fear, agreement and confusion rolled into one. 

"Well, I am offended that you would assume that I am anything like that man you were talking about." He said, pointing a finger at me. 

"You are so not drinking anymore tonight." I said, standing up. "Come on. You're going to bed, you're done for the day." I held out my  hand to help him up, but he refused. 

"I am not!" he argued before I grabbing his hand and pulled him up with the help of a wall. 

"You are. And you're going to sleep until you're sober." I told him, packing up the blanket and my bag. I threw the bag over my shoulder and folded the blanket over my arm. 

"I'm going to sleep until I'm Sobel?" He questioned, stumbling to the side before I caught him. His face turned white with fear. "I don't wanna be Sobel?!" he cried. 

"Sshh! Light discipline comes with noise discipline. Let's go." I said, wrapping an arm around his waist. He threw an arm over my shoulder and leaned on me a bit. He mumbled quietly as I brought him into a building. Getting up the stairs was a hassle in itself, but once that was done, getting a drunk Gaurnere to go to bed was an even worse task. I dropped my  bag and the blanket off in the corner before rushing to catch Gaurnere as he tried to flop onto the bed that was no where near where he was going to land. 

"You're a long ways off there, buddy." I told him before  hauling him towards where the bed actually was in the next room over. 

"You take such good care of me, Gabi." He said before falling down onto the bed, his legs dangling off the side." You're such a good friend." He mumbled as I lifted his legs onto the bed. I went back and got the blanket. I threw it over him. He fell onto the bed on an angle so I grabbed a pillow and propped it under his head before he was out like a light. 

~

The next morning, I woke up and he was still asleep. I knew we were probably going to get called to attention soon so I went into the room where I left Gaurnere to go wake him up. Like I predicted, he was still asleep. I ripped the pillow out from under his head and swung it down to hit him in the gut which woke him up instantly. 

"Woah! Wait!" he shouted, sitting up on the bed. "How did I get here?" he asked, rubbing his forehead with the palm of his hand. 

"I dragged you up here last night. You had too much to drink." I told him before throwing the pillow at his face. "Get up. They're probably gonna assemble soon. " I said before leaving the room. I heard running footsteps come up  the stairs. 

"There you are!" Toye exclaimed, stopping just before the top stair. "I've been looking for you and Gaurnere all morning. Have you seen him?" he asked as Gaurnere stumbled out of the room I left him in. 

"I'm right here." he said angrily before throwing the pillow back at my head. Toye gave us a look of confusion and slight fear. 

"He was messed  up last night so I dragged him up here for the night." I explained, putting the pillow in between the banister railing and me as I leaned on it. 

"And and to wake me up, she hit me with a pillow. " Gaurnere grumbled. 

"You'll get over it." I told him in a sigh. 

"Whatever. Just get out here before people start assuming things." Toye said before going back down the stairs. I grabbed my back and followed him before Gaurnere followed as well. 

 

**~End of Chapter 3~**


	4. Carentan

**Gabriella's POV**

**~**

Time Skip- a couple days or so

~

We left the village and traveled through  the  night  towards Carentan. F Company lead the  way until we kept losing them. Light and Noise Discipline ticked off a bunch of the men because they  weren't allowed to smoke. Lucky for me, I didn't have that problem. We reached the  town of Carentan by about 11 in the morning the next day; every single one of us was tired of walking by then. We were stopped right  before we could see the town. Crouching was better than standing and most  of us even sat on our knees while hunched over. Anything was better than standing. Winters went up to scout with a couple others before coming back and instruction first platoon to go up  the middle before rapid fire rained down on us. We took cover in the ditches while Winters yelled at us to move forward, but no one moved. Luz and Welsh were stuck behind a building; they were the only ones to get farther than the road. 

"Edwards! Get the platoon moving!" Winters called to me from the other side of the road. I nodded before moving forward around the guys. 

"Let's get moving! Let's go! Move forward!" I yelled at them, pushing and pulling them forward with me as we crawled through  the ditch. They were all to stubborn to move so I made my way to the front of the line and made a run for it down into the line of fire, hoping they would grow a pair and follow. 

Nothing.

I  dodged bullets right and left before sliding into cover behind the same building Luz and Welsh were hiding behind. 

"Where is everybody?!" Luz shouted over the gunfire. I stood up straight against the wall. 

"They're all cowering in the ditches! I couldn't get them to move!" I told them as pieces of the building chipped off with the bullets. I saw a couple men move through the bushes around the buildings and try and shoot the guns firing at us from a building directly in front of the road. Shifty Powers managed to snipe one of the shooters, giving us a split second to move before another took over, firing at Shifty's position. I peered around Luz and Welsh and took a shot at the shooter on the top floor before Welsh went out with a grenade in hand. He ran straight towards the guns before throwing the grenade into window and taking cover on the ground. Luz and Hoobler moved on to clear the buildings while I ran to clear the right sector with Gaurnere, Perconte and one other. We started clearing buildings while guns still fired at the men by the road. Panzers blew the sides out of buildings before we cleared through. 

"They've got us zeroed in! Spread it out!" I heard Shifty shout from the warehouse. I looked up to the sky to see a bomb about to fall near us. 

"Incoming!" I screamed before running in the opposite direction. The bomb made impact and the force was big enough to fling me forward. I felt multiple limbs make  contact with the ground in ways they shouldn't have and I was lucky nothing felt broken. I had felt a sharp pain in my arm closer to my right shoulder and another closer to my ankle. My head throbbed as my ears began to ring and my vision coming back from black. 

"Edwards! You alright!" someone asked, pulling me by some loose fabric of my jacket. I looked up, my vision blurry, but I could tell it was Perconte. For the most part, he dragged me across the road where we took cover behind a building as a couple more bombs fell. There was more gunfire before I saw some Krauts moving a wheeled canon across a courtyard and towards a marsh of some kind where most of them retreated before being shot down before blacking out.

~

We made up a makeshift med house where we found Winters. He had caught a piece of a ricochet bullet to the leg. The rest of us continued to move through  houses and buildings before raiding them for food and water. We all had some time to recuperate. I sat in the shade of a half torn down building. The impact of that bomb behind me and the impact I made on the ground made me nauseous. I probably hit my head and didn't know it. I also had caught pieces of ricochet to my arm and leg, but hadn't made it to see Roe. The  shade was better than  behind out in the  sun. I drank what was left of my canteen and tried to eat something. I held it down okay until a wave of stench passed by me. Boy, was I up in a hurry. I ran- more like hobbled- around another building where no one could see me as I puked up any bread I had for breakfast and the water I had just drank. 

Once my stomach was empty, I stumbled back around the space between two buildings, still in the shade, before falling down against the building to my left in another wave of nausea. I rested my head on the cool ground, hoping it would help. 

"You  alright over there?" I heard someone ask from where my stuff was. I looked up to see Luz with a smoke hanging out the corner of his mouth. I let my head fall and rested my forehead on the  ground. 

"Yeah, I'm fine." I groaned before pushing myself up to my feet, using the building for help as pain shot up from my leg and through my chest from my arm.  

"You sure, 'cause you  don't look too good. Maybe you  should go see Doc." he said as I  stumbled over to him to grab my stuff. My vision blurring again. 

"I told you. I'm fine. Just feeling to aftermath of a martyr impact is all." I  told him, throwing my bag over my shoulder and stumbling around him, but he stopped me before I could reach the sunlight. 

"Look at me for a second." He told, grabbing my  face much  like I did to Bill when I checked to see if his pupils were dilated. "You're eyes are blood shot." He said before placing the back  of his hand  on my forehead. "And you're burning up. Maybe you  should go see Doc." he told me, wiping some dirt off my face before noticing the blood on my arm. 

"I'm fine, Luz. Really. I'm good to  move out when you are." I told him, placing my  helmet on my head, the brim of it shielding my  eyes from the sun  a bit. 

"Jesus Christ, you're as white as a ghost." He said, stopping me from moving any more. "How much water have you been drinking today?" he asked. I looked back to where I puked up my insides. 

"Go look over there. The mess I made will tell you." I said, pointing to my  mess behind a wall. Without hesitation, he put out his smoke and grabbed my bag from off my shoulder. 

"We're getting you to Roe. You are not moving out in this condition. What would Gaurnere say if he knew you were sick and we were moving into combat again, huh?" he said, wrapping an arm around my waist and dragging me over to the med station. He made careful note of my arm and leg as he helped me towards the med station. I was sat down in a chair by an open window. I was given a bucket in case I threw up again. Luz went to find Roe and they came back a couple minutes later. 

"I think she has a fever or something 'cause she was burning up last time I checked." Luz explained as Doc sat down in a chair across from me. He placed his hand on my forehead and then on both of my  cheeks. 

"Did anything happen when the bombs dropped?" he asked me, pointing a flash light in my eyes. I wasn't about to stop him either. 

"I got flown across a street. Probably hit my head, but I don't remember." I groaned as he took the light  out of my  eyes. "Probably took ricochet pieces to my arm and leg. Haven't checked yet."

"Well, you've got signs of a fever and a mild concussion." he said before checking my wounds. "Yup, you've got shrapnel in your shoulder and ankle. I'm thinking you should probably stay back a while. Meet up with the rest of the company when they get to England." Roe told me. Luz had the "I told you so" look on his face before Gaurnere bust through the door like a bull in a china shop. 

"Jesus Christ what happen to you?" He asked upon seeing me leaning against a window. Roe stood up and turned to him. 

"She's got signs of a fever and a concussion along with ricochet pieces of shrapnel. I suggest she stays back and meets up  with  y'all when  you  get back to England." he told him before turning to a nurse that was brought  up and saying something I couldn't hear. 

"Well, shit. " Bill muttered to himself. 

"I'm fine, Bill. You guys go ahead. I'll see you in England, eh." I told him, weakly waving him off. He hesitated before nodded. 

"Alright. You take care. We don't want you dying on us, alright." He said, patting me on the good shoulder. "We'll see you soon, Gabi." He finished before walking out of the med station with Luz. I saw Toye poke his head through the door. We made brief eye  contact before Bill ushered him outside, probably to explain why I wasn't going to be there. I was turned in the chair so Roe could take the shrapnel out  of my shoulder. Why it was such a big deal was beyond me because the piece was no bigger than a bullet; same with the one in my leg. Roe did what he could to stitch the wounds together to heal faster before wrapping my limbs. 

The nurse came back with a bucket of cold water and a clean cloth before asking me to move into one of the rooms upstairs. Using the wall for support, I climbed the stairs-  my head starting to hurt now. I was put in a room with another man who lay still on a cot. Half his face was covered in bandages and his arm was in a sling; another bandage was wrapped around his leg. I was directed to lay on another cot as she soaked the cloth in the water before ringing it out and placing it on my forehead. It felt so nice, but my ache remained the same. She left without another word, leaving the bucket of water behind and retreating down stairs. I  heard the man beside me groan as he tried to move his arm to be more comfortable. 

"You alright, buddy?" I asked softly, only causing my  head to throb more.

"No, I  fucked up my  face. Now my girl will never marry me." He replied sadly. I felt bad for the man. Having your face fucked up by artillery was probably more painful than getting shot and how is anyone suppose to recover from that.

"If it makes you feel better, even if  your face is fucked up, if your girl truly loved you, she  would still marry you. If she doesn't, that means she  never truly loved you  to begin with." I told him sincerely. There was a pause, like he was thinking. 

"Shit....you're right. But how am I supposed to know if she truly loves me if I can't ask her?" He asked. I looked over and  saw a single tear had escaped his uncovered eye. 

"They'll most likely  write to your family, telling them what happened to you. And if she's there when you get home and cares for you until you're better, that's when you'll know." I told him, turning my head to look back up to the ceiling. 

"Thank you, miss. I really needed to hear that." he said before sniffling. 

"You're welcome." I mumbled.

"What's your name, miss?" He asked. 

"Edwards. Gabriella Edwards." I  answered, closing my  eyes. 

"You got anyone waiting for you at home, Gabriella?" he asked again. 

"Just my parents and my siblings." I answered. God, I wish I wasn't sent home over a goddamn fever. That would be more than embarrassing. 

"Man, I wish I  had siblings. What's it like?" he asked again. By now, I knew I was probably distracting him from the pain he was feeling both physically and emotionally. 

"It depends if their older or younger. I have both. I've got my older sister, Evelynn, who always used to pick  on me. She also taught me how to cook  when my mom got sick. When my mom got released from the hospital, I learned how to care for a sick person from her, too. It didn't stop  her from pestering me either. " I told him, smiling at the  memories. "And then there's my younger brother. I pestered him most of the time. But there was the occasional time where he would go through  my room because he was bored and that was sure annoying." I  continued. I heard a chuckled come from the man. "And then  there's my  younger twin sisters. They came around 10  years after my  brother. They weren't too bad. It was mainly the older siblings that had the problems." I finished. I didn't know I  was smiling until my dry lips started to crack and hurt. 

"Sounds like you had a good life." the man said, his tone of voice sounded like it was saddening. 

"What about you?" I asked, curiously. 

"I grew up on my parents' farm with my mom and dad and my moms parents. My dads parents lived in the city, working for the bank." he started, his voice now mundane. "I had this dog on the farm that would herd the  sheep everyday. And at night he would sleep on the porch, even in the cold. One time, he snuck out and got another dog pregnant so my parents bought  a couple of the puppies. They tried to training them to be sheep dogs, but one just wouldn't listen. He was more interested in my books and  toy cars than in herding sheep, so my mom let me keep  it inside with me." He continued, his voice going happy. 

"What did you name the dog?" I asked, a small grin appearing on my face. 

"I named her Scarlet. Everyday she'd wait for me on the porch when I come home from school. Then she'd sit under the kitchen table on my  feet while I  did my homework. Mom would kick her outside while we ate dinner, but then she'd come back inside after and sit at the foot of my bed while I read my book. She was the best dog I ever had." He said happily. 

"What do you  mean was?" I questioned.

"She  was old when I deployed. Probably buried with her dad by now. Although, I never got a letter from my parents like they promised, so there might still be a chance." he said. 

"If she's still there when you  get home, I'm sure she'd never leave your side." I said before I saw Winters walking up the stairs. The man must have seen him too, because he held his good arm up in salute. I  didn't have the  energy to move my limbs. 

"Gaurnere told me what Doc said." Winters started. He took the cloth off my forehead and wiped it dry with his sleeve before placing the back of his hand in place of the cloth. "You're still burning up a bit." He said before re-soaking the cloth, ringing it  out and placing it back in its place. I hummed almost silently. 

"So does that mean I'm staying here?" I asked. 

"Just for a bit. Once you get  better I'm sure you'll get driven out to us." He replied. 

"Yes, sir. " I groaned, shifting on the uncomfortable cot. 

"Just get some rest. It'll help you heal faster if you're so eager to return to the front line." He said, mockingly, before turning to the man beside me. "You too, son."

"Yes, sir." the man said as Winters turned to leave. He stopped at the door and looked back at  me. 

"We'll see you soon, Edwards." he said. I took what ever energy I had into finally holding up a salute, to which he returned it before leaving us in quiet. The nurse came back with two other  men and a board. 

"We're here to get you out of here, private." One of the men told the man beside me. He only nodded. I tried  to ignore the  ugly sounds he was making as they moved him from the cot to  the board. The shot to the leg and the arm in a sling were probably causing him more pain by moving than  his face did. I couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards him as he was moved down the stairs. The nurse followed, leaving me alone in the room. A few minutes later, she returned with a tray while two others followed her with another injured man. 

"Lipton?" I  questioned as they  set him down on the cot beside me. 

"Edwards? I thought  you were moving out with the company?" he questioned, his voice filled with pain as they set him on the cot and left. 

"Roe told me not to. Fever and concussion and all that bullshit." I groaned as the  nurse set the tray on the table next to me. 

"Try eating something.  And  then get some rest." he told me before leaving. 

"So what happened to you?" I  asked him, adjusting the cloth on my head. 

"Bomb landed near me. Shot some shrapnel everywhere. Lucky for my wife, everything is still in tact." He said. I  couldn't help but laugh a bit, but stopped when my  head began  to throb again. 

"I can tell by the look on your face that your head  is causing you some pain." he stated. 

"I can't really complain, I mean, look at the mess you're in." I retorted.

"That's true." he muttered before silence. And thank god for silence because my head was killing me. I didn't bother eating, I only took the cloth off my head and turned to my side. I  let my eyes close, hoping I  would fall asleep; and sure enough I did. The only thing was, when I woke up. I was in the back of a covered truck with  four other men on stretchers. 

"We're being moved to the general hospital.  We'll be there soon." I was told before I fell back into unconsciousness. Only waking up for brief moments every now and then, but was asleep or unconscious for most of the trip. 

~

When I woke up again, we were back in England. Lipton was gone, probably cleared for duty. I felt a lot better, but I was still confined to a bed. I rubbed my eyes and sat up with ease. My arm didn't hurt, but was probably not healed all the way, same with my leg. I moved my legs so they hit the floor and that's when I noticed my  boots were gone. I looked down and saw I was only in my tank top and pants. Panicking, I checked around my area and saw there was a curtain around me and a bedside table with  a pile a clothes, my boots underneath. I let out a sigh as I pulled my boots over and slipped my sore feet  inside before lacing them up. I stood up and stayed like that until I was certain I could move without passing out. I took the clothes in my hands and saw it was my shirt and jacket. I threw the jacket on the bed and  slipped the shirt over my head before throwing the jacket over my shoulders, pushing my arms through, but leaving it open in the front. I saw my bag was also there along with my  pistol. I put the pistol in my  bag before finding the opening the the curtain around me. The light of the  hospital I was in hurt my head a little, but I managed to find my way downstairs to the desk where I found Doc Roe. 

"Gabriella. I didn't expect you to be up so soon." he stated, handing a nurse at the desk a clipboard. 

"I had nothing better to do and was feeling pretty good. I was hoping I could join the company again." I said, adjusting the bag on my best shoulder with a slight smile. The pain in my leg was nothing more than a slight ache. 

"Not so fast, Sergeant. It's my  responsibility to make sure you're fit for duty. Follow me." he said before walking towards a hallway. We passed door after door before he found an empty room. "Sit in the bed please." he said, grabbing a light from a drawer. I did as I was told as he pulled a chair up next to me. He  flashed the  light in my  eyes, pulling down on my face before clicking the light off.

"So how  long was I out for?" I asked as he checked for a temperature before standing up.

"Few days, almost a week. Your fever is practically gone now." He explained with his back towards me. He put the light back in the drawer and took a meter stick down from the wall and placed it on the floor. 

"Balance test. To see if you're brain can handle seeing straight." he said. I sighed and stood  up, taking a place at the end of the stick. "One foot in front of the other, toe the heel." he  instructed and I followed my instructions without fail. 

"Looks like  you're cleared, Sergeant." he said, picking up the stick before smiling at me. "It's good to have you back, Gabriella." He told me. 

"It's good to be back." I  said, picking up my  bag again. He lead me out to the front door where helmets were lined on a wall with names. He grabbed one off the wall and ripped the name tag  off from below it. 

"I believe this is yours." he said,  handing it to me. I thanked him as I opened my  bag and threw it inside before he let me leave. An officer directed me  to where the barracks were so I could drop my bag off before I was brought  to the mess hall where Easy  Company was at. The officer left me at the door and I found my  way. Lipton was standing at the front and had just finished telling the  men something. I spotted Muck, out of all people, across the room sitting next to Luz. I guess Luz spotted me because he made a grand entrance for  me. 

"The return of Sergeant Edwards! A mighty fighter! Brought  down, temporarily, by a Nazi bomb!" he exclaimed, standing up and pointing to me as I made my way  around crowded tables. Bill turned around rapidly upon hearing my name and he was the first one standing up to greet me. 

"Hey! You're lookin' better than when we last saw you." he said, pulling me into an unexpected hug. We parted, but he kept an arm over my shoulders as we sat down. 

"How was your break?" Muck asked, almost jealous Doc pulled me out of duty. 

"Oh, it was horrible!" I exclaimed, earning mixed reactions from the guys around me. 

"How so?" Luz questioned, almost angrily. 

"Because I wasn't with my buddies." I answered with a smile, motioning to the lot around me. 

"Awe, she does care about us!" Muck laughed, smacking Luz on the arm. 

"Of course, I care about you  guys. You're my friends." I stated before realizing  someone was missing. "Say, where's Joe? I haven't seen him anywhere." I asked them. 

"I think he's back at the barracks for something." Bill answered, lighting up a smoke. 

"I'm sure he'd be happy to see you all better now. Come on, we move out at 0700. We should go find him." Luz said, standing up with Muck following behind. 

"Let's do it." I  said, nudging Bill to get up so I could get up. 

"I'm moving! I'm moving! Take it easy!" He argued as he stood up, his smoke hanging in the corner of his mouth. I got up quickly as we went to  leave the hall, but were stopped by Buck.

"Since when did you get out of the  hospital?" He asked. I looked down at my wrist, acting like I had a watch  on.

"About 20 minutes ago." I answered, putting my arm down. 

"So Doc thought you were ready  to  fight again, huh? Well then welcome back." he said,  shaking my  hand. 

"Thank  you,  sir." I said, as he let go of my  hand. 

"So  where are you four off to?" he asked us, curiously. 

"We gotta go find Joe. You see him anywhere?" Bill answered. 

"Not lately, no. Would you tell him what Lipton just announced if you find him?" Buck asked  us. 

"Sure will, lieutenant." Luz said before we were off again. We decided to check the barracks first, but all that was found was his jacket and bag. 

"Maybe he's in the showers?" Muck suggested. 

"Someone get me some hot spoons because if we find him in there, I might have to  gauge my eyes out." I stated, picking up his jacket before we left the barracks. 

"So, what did I miss while I was gone?" I asked as Muck pranced happily  ahead of us. 

"Oh, just the new replacements." Luz replied grumpily. 

"You don't sound too happy about that. Are they bad or something?" I questioned. 

"We don't know. Only  met one so far." Bill added. 

"Yikes." I muttered. 

"Would you slow pokes hurry up. We're burning daylight here!" Muck exclaimed as he stopped a few feet ahead of us. 

"You seem like you're in a hurry to see Joe naked or something." Bill joked. Luz and I doubled over in laughter as Muck just turned back around and continued walking, causing the three  of us to continue laughing. 

When we made it to the showers, Luz went in to check  if there was anyone in there. He waved us  in through  the door and we quietly followed. We stood quietly near the door as we heard the water shut off. I got ready to turn and run in case  I saw something I didn't  want to see. Muck peeked around a corner before waving us to hide behind the wall dividing the  showers from the  change  room. I hid behind Bill as I tried not to laugh before Joe walked in wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. 

"Gotcha!" Bill and Luz screamed at him. He screamed and fell backwards, covering his man parts from the rest of us. 

"Jesus Christ! Can't a man get changed in peace?!" he yelled at us as we laughed. 

"You're in a shared shower room, there's never any peace." I mentioned, poking my head over Bill's shoulder. 

"Yeah, yeah, very funny." he grumbled as he stood up. He held the towel around his waist and moved past us. "Since when were you released from the hospital anyway?" He asked, grabbing his clothes from a bench. 

"About half an hour ago." I told him as he went behind a curtain. 

"You guys suck by the way." he told us, causing us to laugh to ourselves. 

"Well, we're moving out at 0700." Muck added. Joe ripped open one end of the curtain, only exposing his head. 

"What?! We just got here last night!" he exclaimed. 

"Yeah, we're going back to France apparently." Luz added, making that stupid face he  always makes when he's quoting someone. Joe went back behind the curtain. 

"Well shit." he said as he hurriedly dried himself off. "Aw, shit I forgot my jacket!" he cursed from behind the curtain. I motioned for the three to stay quiet as I hid his jacket behind my back and leaned against the wall. Bill and Muck had to stifle their chuckles as Joe came back out, fully dressed. He hung his towel on a hook before walking passed us towards the door. I was the first one to follow him as he opened the door to the shower. I took his jacket out from behind my back and as he stepped onto  the bottom stair, I jumped on his back, wrapping the jacket around his head, covering his face. He screamed as we fell to the  ground while the others laughed in the doorway. I rolled away quick in case  he got back up ready  to throw fists as he struggled to  get his jacket off his head. I ignored the pains in my limbs and head as I laughed.

"Goddamit!" He  cursed, throwing his jacket away from him before glaring at  me, the others laughing behind us. I stood up, laughing as well, just calmer. 

"You guys fucking suck." Joe grumbled, standing up to pick up his jacket. 

"We do it because we care." I  told him, holding my  hands over my heart, fingers laced together. 

"Pfft! What ever." he said as he threw on his jacket. 

"Hey, Joe. We're moving out again, we may not be coming back to England so you better go pack up." Bill broke the news, causing the  rest  of us  to huff and sigh. 

"Isn't this day just great. First my  shower gets interrupted by  you  goons and now we gotta  leave." Joe grumbled. We went back to the barracks where Bill and Luz were at and waited there while they packed up before they left their bags on their cots. We moved onto the barracks where Muck's stuff was and moved on until we were all packed so when it was time to move out, we were ahead of the others. We had extra time to kill and going back to mess wasn't a good idea so we hung out in the open field they used for physical training activities.

Joe wasn't as angry as he was before and by now it was just a practical joke. We were laid out in the grass just enjoying the nice weather England was having for once. Bill was probably the only one sitting up  right as I used his leg as a headrest. Muck was sprawled out on his own across from Luz who fiddled with the laces on my boots. Joe was laid out using his arm as a head rest. We made occasional small talk every  now and then, but for the most part we sat quietly; Bill would fiddle with my  hair every once in a while as I basked in the afternoon sun. 

"What's going  on over here? We having an outdoor  slumber party or something?" I heard someone ask. I looked over and saw Malarkey and Randleman walking over with Heffron. 

"Just enjoying our last bit of freedom before we ship off again." Muck replied as Malarkey sat down next to him. Heffron and Randleman sat down across from Joe, who remained un bothered by any of us. 

"Company's going to a pub tonight. Just so y'all know." Randleman told us, gaining Joe's attention finally. 

"I could use a drink before we ship out again." Joe grumbled, but remained still. 

"Sign us up." Bill said less enthusiastically. 

We hung out in the field for a little while longer, just talking about pointless stuff before Randleman, Heffron and Malarkey practically dragged us away. 

**~End of Chapter 4~**


	5. Replacements

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This isn't a summary, but I have been going through the chapters before this one and editing them and adding slight changes if you want to go back and see what I've done. Not telling you that you have to, but if you'd like to, feel free. It's nothing major, just slight changes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any translations to Dutch (or other languages) where made using Google Translate. Not the most reliable source, I know, but I typed what I wanted to be said in English before translating it to Dutch and then taking the Dutch version and translating it back to English to double check.  
> I apologize if it's still wrong, feel free to correct me and feel free to also give me some suggestions of other translating machines I could use.
> 
> +
> 
> We get to see who Eliza is in this Chapter I promise you'll *sqeee* a little like I did. With that, I did add stuff to chapters 1 and 2 you might want to go back and read before reading this one, but idk, you do you.
> 
> +
> 
> Toye has a sister now. I couldn't find any research or anything about him anywhere on the internet so if he doesn't have a sister, he does in my story just to make the plot go smoother for this chapter. Please don't hate me.

**Gabriella's POV**

~

For some reason unknown, when we reached the pub, most of the men were more chatty with me than usual. I was stopped at first  by a few replacements. While I spoke with them, Gaurnere and Toye had left to go get drinks. By the time I dismissed myself, they were off shooting darts with Heffron, Buck and Luz. Bill was sitting with three of  the  other replacements in Bull's squad. As I strode over, I heard he was telling them the story of Doris, the pin-up painted on the nose of the plane and also Heffron's old broad back home. By the time I found my way around the other drinking men, the story was over and Bill was saying something to Bull before turning back to the replacements. Before he said anything to them, he noticed me step towards the  table they were at. 

"Hey, you made it back. Come here for a second." He beckoned, waving his hand at me. I stepped around the table and went to stand beside Bill, but he  pulled me onto his lap instead. I wrapped an arm around his shoulders for balance as he held me in place with an arm around my waist. 

"You fellas have met Sergeant Edwards, right?" Bill asked the audience of three in front of us before they shook their heads. "Alright, well this here, is Sergeant Gabriella Edwards. You listen to her and you just might make it through the war, you hear me?" he told the three as they nodded. "If Bull isn't around, find her she'll tell you what to do." he finished before looking up at me. "You  meet these fellas, here, yet?" He asked. 

"I'm not sure I have." I replied. 

"Well, allow me to introduce you." he said, putting his smoke down. "This here is James Miller, Tony Garcia and Les Hashy. Ol' Babes friends. Also in Randleman's squad. " Bill told me, pointing to each of the men when he said their names. I reaches over to shake their hands. 

"Nice to  meet you guys. Gabriella Edwards." I said before sitting back a little, only for Bill to pat me on the back. 

"You stay here and chat, I'm going to see how the darts gambling is going." He whispered to me. I stood up so he could get off the chair before sitting back down. Before anyone could say  anything, Cobb came over and flicked the unit citation on Private Miller's jacket. 

"Where'd you get that?" He questioned. I knew what he was getting at, but I decided to wait. Miller told him what is was. Everyone got one after Normandy. 

"Yeah, for what the unit did in Normandy." Cobb paused. "You weren't there." he said. 

"Ease up, Cobb. It's a unit citation." I told him calmly. 

"You  weren't even supposed to be there in the first place." Cobb snapped, pointing a finger at me. Without thinking, I grabbed his finger and pulled him towards me over the table. 

"You weren't there, either, Cobb. So what would you know?" I growled at him before pushing him back over the table. I stood up and walked around Miller and got in his face. 

"You weren't there. Why do you have one? Huh?" I questioned. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Miller take off the unit citation and go to stand up. "Private Miller, sit your ass back in that chair." I demanded, keeping partial eye contact with Cobb. Miller sat back down as we gained the attention of Randleman, Bill, Johnny and a few others. 

"I was an original. I trained with Easy Company from the start!" Cobb defended. 

"I don't give a shit! If Miller doesn't get his," I started before grabbing Cobb's unit citation and ripping it off his jacket. "then you don't get yours. Because you didn't fight alongside us. " I finished, tossing his citation into a half full glass of ale. 

"You can't do that!" He exclaimed, stepped closer to me getting in my face.

"I am your Sergeant, I can do what I want." I told him, pushing him back a bit. "Now, take your shitty attitude, and leave these replacements alone or I'll drag you out of this regimen myself." I warned him. We held eye contact for a while, my glare was dead and stale while Cobb showed signs of fear and intimidation. Beads of sweat started to form on his forehead before he looked away and stepped back. He took the glass in which I threw his unit citation and retreated to the  far corner of the pub. I turned to see Miller and his buddies looking rather nervous, Bill stood by a pillar looking ready to fight someone, but backed off when I gave him a nod of reassurance. I reached over and picked up the citation Miller had taken off before turning to him. 

"I believe this belongs to you." I said, handing it back to him. he looked up at me, half frightened and half relieved. He gratefully took back his citation with a smile and clipped it back into his jacket. I patted him on the shoulder before walking away to the table towards where Bill, Joe and the others were standing there with stupid looks on their faces. 

"What? Am I growing a third eye or somethin'?" I asked, touching my hand to my forehead before they burst out into laughter and cheers. 

"Boy, you sure showed him, didn't ya!" Joe said, clapping a hand on my shoulder and directing me over to their area for a drink. 

"Did you see his face after? He looked so scared!" Luz laughed, handing me a mug of either ale or beer. I gracefully accepted it and drank before someone tried to get everyone's attention. 

"This here is Carwood Lipton!" Smokey announced before Malarkey interrupted. 

"He's already married, Smokey." before a bunch of laughs. 

"This here, is Carwood Lipton. The new Easy Company First Sergeant!" Smokey announced, patting Lipton on the shoulder. We all cheered and drank in congratulations. "And his first act of his new position, he says he has an announcement to make." Smokey said before stepping out of the spotlight. 

"I hate the break the mood here boys, but uh...we're moving out again." he said with a finishing nod before going back to his original post. We all groaned and/or sighed while others finished their drinks. 

"Great." I muttered before chugging the rest of my drink before placing the glass on the bar. The others did as well before we gathered our things we brought and left. I separated from my friends to go change from my formal gear to tactical. I met back up with them at debriefing. 

The operation was called Market Garden. Odd name for a war advance if you ask me. Our objective was to liberate a small Holland town in order to get the British  tanks over the Rhine and into Germany. If successful, we could finish the war and be home by Christmas. Boy, wouldn't that be a treat. Considering it  was the British tanks being moved over the Rhine, Operation Market Garden was under British control. That got a reaction from us. No one liked being under the British control. I guess some of us thought  of them  the same way we thought of Sobel: jumpy in the field and unreliable. 

We were dismissed from debriefing to go pack up. We were not returning to England any more and I think that's what  bummed me out the most. I liked our breaks in England. It gave us time to recuperate after what we deal with in battle. But, orders were orders, and we followed our orders without question for the most part. I grabbed my bags from where I was staying and we met with our squads and companies before being transported to the planes. It was a low jump so reserve chutes were useless. I packed up without Bill or Toye and glared at Cobb whenever he tried to tell the replacements what to do. 

"If you wanna live, jump ready  to fight." He told Miller and his two buddies. I walked over and smacked him in the back of his head. 

"You didn't even jump the first time, what would you know." I said before walking over to the three. Garcia had taken his rifle out  of the casing and was looking at it. I stood in front of him and grabbed it from him. 

"The  gun will release the cartridge when it's out  of bullets. Pull this back before putting in a new one." I told him, pointing to the different components, Hashy  and Miller looking on as well and trying to follow  along. I opened my mouth  to say something before I was tapped on the shoulder. 

"Sobel." the person whispered before leaving. I looked behind me and surely enough, Sobel as arriving in a  truck loaded with supplies and Popeye  in the back, standing up. All the originals noticed and stared in confusion as he passed before we went back to packing. 

"Who's that?" Hashy asked, pointing to Sobel. 

"Captain Sobel. Our old Easy Company leader." I explained as Randleman walked over. 

"What happened?" Garcia asked. 

"He got promoted. You going through this with them?" He asked me. I  nodded, he nodded and then walked away to meet up with Popeye. The others watched him leave so I snapped my fingers to get their attention. When  they  turned to me, I handed the  gun back to Garcia. 

"When you jump, have this horizontally. You  have it slanted, your knee with  hit the butt end, business end will smash your jaw." I told them, moving to gun to mimic  the situation. They nodded slowly. "When you  land, drop the case, your chute and your Mae West. This will be attached to your outer jacket so just throw it over your head and  start running." I explained before Miller piped up. 

"How do we get  the chute off?" Miller asked,  pointing to the metal clasp in the center of his chest.

"Twist this piece here and one hit to the top should do it." I said, pointing to the clasp before making a fist and making the motion of hitting the top  of the  metal clasp. 

"Edwards!" Someone called my name. I saw one of the officers looking for me. 

"Follow Randleman's instructions and you'll be just fine." I told them before walking over to the man. 

"Are you Gabriella Edwards?" He asked as he approached. 

"Yes, sir." I replied,  stopping before him. 

"'A letter from President Roosevelt. I've been told it's urgent." he told me, handing me an envelope. I thanked him before he left. I ripped open the envelope and opened the letter. 

_**"Sgt. Gabriella Edwards,** _

_**I regret to inform you that since your departure in Brooklyn, an incident has happened in your family. A few civilians heard about your occupation and did not agree with it like I did. I'm sorry to say they had invaded your parents' farm house while your parents were out. Your young twin sisters and the housemaid have become victims to a cold-blooded murder to which I send my condolences. I have given a donation to your family to pay for the funeral and minor repairs to your home. And in your absence, I have sent guards around the perimeter of your house to protect your family until your return.** _

_**I wish to inform you that you have the option to be pulled off the line right now or come home when the war is done.** _

_**I wish to hear from you soon.** _

_**My Condolences,** _

_**President F. Roosevelt."** _

The envelope fell from my grip as Bill approached. I realized my jaw had fallen and my eyes begun to water a bit. 

"That face doesn't look good. Something wrong?" he asked, stopping right in front of me, the  letter lightly brushing against the front of his jacket. I closed my mouth and blinked away  any moisture in my eyes. 

"Someone back home didn't like the idea I'm here." I told him, folding the letter and letting my  hands fall to my sides. I didn't make eye contact, scared I would seem vulnerable. 

"What happened?" He asked quietly, almost inaudible as vehicles passed and men yelled around us. I let out a shaky sigh, not wanting to tell him.

"A squad of rebels attacked my parents farm house when they weren't there. My two younger sisters and our housemaid were caught in the crossfire." I told him, wiping a hand over my face. Bill went silent as I picked up the envelope and put the letter back inside it before tucking it into my jacket pocket. 

"Christ..." He whispered, holding a hand our his mouth. "I'm real sorry, Gab." he said before pulling me into a hug. It was almost impossible to prevent myself from crying and making a scene right before we jump again. 

"I have the option to go home. Help my mom." I muttered into his shoulder as I felt his hand rub a spot on my back. 

"What are you going to do?" He asked, wrapping his arms tighter around me. 

"I'm not sure." I said, pulling away and straightening out my jacket. "I want to be there for the funeral, but I can't leave here. We have the chance to end the war here." I told him, my voice sounding distressed, anyone could tell. Bill remained silent as I felt a single tear try to escape. I was quick to react and rub my eyes with my sleeve, hoping it made it less obvious that I was on the verge of tears. 

"Why are we standing around, Sergeants!" Lieutenant Welsh exclaimed, walking over to us. He took one look at me as I looked up at him before he probably realized what was going on.

"Is everything alright?" he asked, giving me a look of sympathy. 

"Just some family dilemmas, sir." I replied, straightening my posture. He nodded in response. 

"We jump in about an hour. If you need to bail, you can bail." he told me, placing a hand on my shoulder. 

"I'm not leaving the front line, sir. Even if I have the choice to leave." I told him. Bill looked at me with concern as Welsh nodded. 

"Alright, then. " He said before leaving. As soon as he was gone, Bill turned to me with an expression I couldn't name. 

"You won't go back?" He questioned, looking like he was about to lose his mind. 

"I can't leave you guys here." I said sadly. His expression changing to confusion. "If none of you get to go home to your families when something goes wrong, then I'm not going home either." I continuing before looking down at the ground. "As much as I want to." I whispered, hopefully, inaudibly to him. He was about to say something before we were called over by Winters. I straightened my posture and walked away ahead of Bill, but he caught up quickly as we all gathered around the lieutenants. 

**~Time Skip~**

 On the plane, I was one of the last to jump, which put me closer to the treeline near our drop zone. I got a lot of comments on the ground how they were surprised I didn't land in a tree again. Not going to lie, it gave me something to think about other than my family  problems back home. I unlatched my chute bag and my Mae West vest before throwing the bag over my head and un-casing my rifle. I started running towards the muster point when I noticed Miller struggling with his chute. I ran over to him and twisted the buckle before planting a hit to the center of it. 

"I'm sorry, Serg." he mumbled, looking down in shame. 

"Don't be sorry. Other replacements are struggling too. You're not alone. Drop the shit, let's go." I told him before running off. Randleman had helped Hashy with the same problem while Cobb also struggled. 

"Got a sticky buckle?" I asked, stopping in front of him. 

"I got it." He argued, twisting and pulling at the latch. I pushed his hands away, twisted the latch and punched the buckle, releasing his chute. 

"Sure you do. Drop your shit." I told him before running towards the ditch the men were starting to assemble in. I sat down next to Randleman, keeping my gun from hitting him in the face when I hit the ground. Soon enough, we had everyone assembled when one of the scouts came back.

"There's a hold up ahead. We're going in through this field here." he told us before Bull signaled for us to move through the field. Crawling out of the ditch, we stayed low before one of the point leaders signaled it was ok. I waved through the squad Gaurnere and I lead before following up behind. We were spread apart as we tracked through the field; about 2 meters in between each man- side to side and back to front, almost like a grid. About 15 minutes into our walk, we came up to a fence. The leading points rushed up ahead and crouched behind the fence, ready to fire on command. The rest of us followed up behind and watched as a woman opened a window in one of the buildings across the way. We tensed as she pulled out an orange drape and tied it around the beam in the middle of the window. I watched as Bull smiled a bit before waving the front points to put down their guns as she made eye contact with us, quickly retreating back into the building. 

We were lead over the fence and into the cheering town by the lieutenants. Orange banners and flags were posted around the town streets as the townsfolk bombarded us with hugs, pats on the shoulder or back or kisses. Some of the men got dragged towards tables where there were plates of food ready for them. I followed Buck through the crowds with Toye behind me. I smiled at the people who smiled and waved at me before an older gentleman came up and pulled me into a hug saying something in Dutch before planting a kiss on my cheek and letting me pass. 

"Godzijdank zijn de Duitsers weg! Godzijdank dat de Amerikanen hier zijn!" the people shouted, which I'm not sure, but think it translated to _"Thank goodness the Germans are gone! Thank God the Americans are here!"_ Either way, I was still unsure. 

I continued to push through the crowd before a few little kids ran up and began tugging at my jacket, smiling and cheering like the rest of the folk. I picked up a little girl, resting her on my hip before she wrapped her arms around my neck and mumbled the same thing the old man did. A few young boys ran circles around us before I put the young girl down and continued on my way. I had lost Toye and Buck, but saw Gaurnere taking a group photo with  a few others and some young kids. Before I could get to them, I was stopped my a younger woman who spun me around in a hug before planting kisses all over my face before I was tugged away by my arm. Confused, I tried pulling my arm back only to see Lieutenant Welsh dragging me through the crowd. 

"We have to keep moving!" He shouted over the crowd. "Tell anyone you see!" he told me before leaving. I was too short to see over the heads of the townsfolk since most of the women were on heels and men are naturally tall. I tried jumping but a couple times almost got me knocked to the ground and that would have meant chaos. I was about to give up and just wait by a building for someone to come get me until someone grabbed my shoulder quite aggressively. I spun around, ready to throw a punch if necessary, but it was only Gaurnere. 

"You look like your searching for someone!" he shouted over the noise of the crowd around us. 

"Welsh told me to tell everyone to keep moving, but I can't see over the people!" I explained, raising my voice so he could hear me. 

"Well, then let me help you." He said, before kneeling down. "Get on my shoulders, you'll be able to see better." he told me. I threw one leg over his shoulders as he grabbed my shins and stood up. I was about to fall forward, but put my hands on the top of his head to stop myself from doing so. Now I could see. I spotted a group of the men dancing with the townswomen. 

"Move to the cafe on the right!" I told Bill before he started walking towards where I pointed. It earned us a few questioning stares, but it was convenient. Bill pulled back one of the men and told them to keep moving forward before the others got the memo and left their dancing partners. He stood still for a second while I scanned the crowd. 

"Straight ahead, just past the second lamp post on the left." I told him before he started walking again. We went on like this until we met up with Winters and Nixon before Gaurnere knelt down again and I got off his shoulders. 

"Interesting technique!" Nixon commented, raising his voice so we could hear him. 

"It worked so it's worth it!" Gaurnere told him as I pulled into another hug by another elderly gentleman, saying the same phrase before planting another kiss on my cheek before leaving. I adjusted my helmet upon my head and pulled the strap to my rifle higher up on the shoulder. The others spoke, but I couldn't hear so I waited patiently for someone to tell me what to do. 

~

Later that night, I parted from Gaurnere and Toye to find something to eat since our rations were low, but most of the men had found families willing to bring them into their homes for the night. I had not. 

I shuffled through a small field, avoiding the visible crops growing before hearing the cocking of a rifle. I stopped and looked up, throwing my hands up in surrender. 

"Are you German?!" Someone called to me. 

"American!" I called back, turning my arm towards the silhouette in the lit doorway of a small house. They turned to someone inside the house before putting down their rifle. 

"Come! Come!" they called to me. I hurriedly walked towards the house where a younger man and woman greeted me.  

"The Germans are gone?" the woman asked me, smiling at me widely. 

"Yes. The Americans and British arrived today around noon. I think we're moving out tomorrow, though." I told them, hoisting my rifle up on my shoulder. 

"Please, come in." the man told me, grabbing my rifle and helmet and setting them on a table next to the doorway. The woman led me to the dinning room where two young girls were sitting, finishing their dinner. 

"Please, sit. We are just finishing eating. We have much more." she told me as the two girls smiled at me. I smiled back at them as I pulled out the chair in front of me before sitting down. The woman came back with a bowl of stew and set it down in front of me. I thanked her quietly as she spoke to the girls in Dutch before she turned back to me. 

"Do you have other men that would like a warm meal? Maybe a warm place to stay for the night?" she asked me, her hands clasped behind her back. My mind drifted to Bill, and then to Joe, and then Luz. 

"I'm not sure if they had found a place to stay. If I might, I could go find them." I told her, beginning to stand up before being stopped by the man. 

"No, no. I go find them for you. What are their names?" he asked. I told him their names before he grabbed his jacket and left in a hurry. I continued eating until I was finished before bringing my bowl up to the wash bin where the woman was cleaning the rest of their dinner dishes. 

"Thank you. It was very good." I told her, gratefully as she took my bowl. 

"No, thank you. Now that the Americans are here, we can be at peace." she told me with a wide smile. I nodded before going and walking out of the dinning room, under the arch and into their living space. Photographs hung on the wall in hand-made frames of the family, except there was another younger boy, probably around the age of 18, who was missing from the house, and a young baby. I looked around and saw a cradle next to an arm chair. I stepped over to it and peered over the  high wall of the side of the cradle and saw a sleeping baby, swaddled up in a soft orange blanket. I smiled a bit before quietly stepping away before I heard voices on the other side of the arch. I glanced over my shoulder and saw the two girls duck behind the arch wall. I snuck over to the wall and peered around to see the two giggling. I ducked back around the corner and waited. They peeked their heads out again and didn't see me. They stood up and walked around the wall, giggling a bit. I crouched down to their level before they turned around, jumping back and laughing. I waved them over, remembering a couple chocolate bars I had in my jacket. I took them out and handed one to each of them. They smiled up at me before running off into the dinning room. I stood up and followed before hearing voices outside. The woman was still in the kitchen, but  she turned her head towards the door before the man came back with the three trailing behind him. Without the exchange of words, the woman started to prepare three bowls of the soup, bringing them to empty spots at the dinner table. 

"I see you made some friends." Bill stated, pointing to me. I looked down to see the two girls hiding behind my legs, curious, but also a bit intimidated. One looked up at me and I sent her a reassuring smile before she stepped out from behind me a bit and sat back down at the table. The other hid behind me entirely. By now, the three were seated and eating like they hadn't been fed in a while, which wasn't entirely false, but wasn't true either. 

I turned partially and picked up the younger girl, resting her on my hip. She hid her face from the guys as she  wrapped her arms around my neck. I sat down at my original spot at the table, picking up one of the  chocolate bars I had given the girls. She sat on my lap quietly as I unwrapped the top part before handing it to her. She munched quietly before the door opened once more to reveal a startled looking young boy. He had a rifle in his hand and a couple birds in the other, tied together by a rope. 

"Ah, my boy. Come in. Don't be scared. The Americans are here." the man told him, waving him inside. 

"Americans?" he questioned, placing the rifle in a wooden case attached to the  wall above the table my rifle was sitting on. 

"Yes, the Germans are gone." the man told the  boy happily. The three had turned around in their spots, waving or smiling to the young boy. The young girl on my lap jumped off and ran over to her older brother where he picked her up and rested her on his hip like I had done before. Bill had said something to the young lad to which  I droned it out. Under the noise of chatter, I heard a little groan-like noise coming from the living room. I stood up without bringing the  attention to me and walked back over to the cradle where the baby was wide awake. I peered into the cradle and smiled at  the baby. It couldn't have been more than 2 months old. 

"Hey, little one." I said softly as the baby grinned up at me before frowning. "Hey, what's wrong?" I asked it, knowing I wouldn't get an answer because...well...it was a baby. I knew the face it had and it wasn't good. I slowly placed my hand under its neck and another under its bottom, lifting it out of the cradle before holding it close to me. I cradled the baby in my arms, lightly bouncing around, trying to calm it. I heard footsteps approaching as the baby began to calm down a bit, but making no noise. I looked up to the archway to see the woman standing their with a look of relief. 

"Usually she gets fussy at this time  of night." She told me, walking over with a bottle. "She seems to like you." She stated, rubbing a finger gently  over the infants cheek. 

"What's her name?" I asked as she handed the bottle to me. 

"Alice. Alice Marie." she answered, smiling down at her baby. The name struck me straight through the heart as I remembered what happened back home, but I didn't let it show. Alice was suckling quietly on the bottle as I rocked back and forth. 

"Maurice, where's that bottle of wine I had stored?" the  man asked, but went quiet when he saw me with the baby. 

"It should be in the closet upstairs." the lady, Maurice, told him before leaving. I stepped slowly towards the archway dividing the living room from the dinning room before leaning against the post. The three were still talking to the young boy, one of the young girls was now sitting with Luz as they went through a children's book quietly and the other falling asleep on her older brother. Joe was the first to notice me standing there. 

"Where do you keep finding all these kids?" he asked, bringing the attention of the others to me. I just shrugged my shoulders while still lightly rocking back and forth. Soon enough, Alice was asleep so I walked to the kitchen and put the bottle on the counter as Maurice and the man came back downstairs. The man  took the young girl from Luz and went back  upstairs, the young boy following shortly  behind with the second young girl, presumably a nightly routine. Maurice was in awe over, what I can only assume was, how calm Alice was with a stranger holding her. 

"You're so good with  her." Maurice stated quietly, looking lovingly at  her infant. "Do you have any children back in America?" she asked suddenly. The question itself took me by surprise since I never really  talk about my home life with anyone. The only person who knows anything about me was President Roosevelt. 

"I do. A little girl." I replied softly. I thought back to the night where Bill asked me if I had anybody special back home. I did and I didn't. I hate to admit that I was a young widow. Married at 18, attended my husbands funeral at 19, five months before I had my baby, my little Eliza. Killed by a drunken bar fight gone wrong. He was doing what he thought was right and tried to break it up. Took a beer bottle to the head before being stabbed with the same bottle. That funeral was harder to attend than my aunt and uncles who were killed by a drunk driver.

I could feel the questioning gaze of Bill, but I feared turning around the face him. He's told me almost everything about his home life, I kept everything hidden. Such a great friend I was. 

 "Wait, wait, wait,  wait. Go back as second." Luz interrupted, holding his hands up. This time, I turned to face the three at the table. Bill kept his confused, yet curious stare locked on me. "You have a kid? And you're over here fighting in a war!?" he questioned, planting both hands on the table in front of him. 

"What's her name?" Joe asked with an adoring smile in his face. He had turned around in his seat to face me, resting his head on top of his hand that was resting on the top of the chair. 

"Elizabeth. Eliza for short. Named after my grandmother." I replied with an equally as adoring smile. Bill had given up with staring at me, questioningly, and instead downed a drink I didn't know he had. Something had upset him, I could tell. But I also felt sorry I hadn't told him. But yet again, he didn't ask. 

"Awe." Luz moaned, cupping his face in his hands. By now I'm sure Maurice had sensed that I was tense. 

"Here. I'll put her to bed for the night. I'll come back down to help you four get settled for the night." she said, gently taking Alice from my arms as I let go, brushing my hand over her head before they left for upstairs. I approached the table and sat down in my original seat. With Luz to my right and Joe to my left, I was forced to look Bill dead on, his expression of betrayal and slight anger still resting on his rosy cheeks. The other two looked at me like they were searching for answers. I switched my gaze between the two in question. 

"What?" I questioned as a smile appeared on the faces of Joe and Luz. 

"Since when?" Bill spoke first. 

"She'll be two here soon." I said with another adoring smile. Bill eased up a bit, probably telling himself he is overreacting a bit. 

"Is her father fighting in the war with us?" Luz asked sincerely. My breathing hitched; a difficult topic to speak of. 

"No, he's not." I paused, moving my gaze down to a spot on the table in front of me. "He was killed a few months before Eliza was born." I paused once more, trying to suppress the lump in my throat. The familiar tingle and twitch in my nose came back like it does every time I feel myself about to start crying. I laugh a second before stopping myself. ''Survived an abusive household, but couldn't live through a damn bar fight." I often got angry at him for leaving so soon. After all he went through it was almost like he wanted to die in that bar. That's why I sold my engagement and wedding band as well as his. The others went silent. 

"We're sorry to hear that. Must've been tough." Joe mumbled, moving his gaze down to the table like I had except he was hunched over his arms. 

"Oh, fuck yeah. Good thing my parents helped me care for her while I worked with  the president. I got the job fresh out of high school in a government campaign." I told them, looking up only to see Bill's expression changed to sympathetic. 

"My sister should have had her little baby by now." Joe brought up, a smile creeping up on his lips. 

"Boy or girl?" I asked, hoping to bring the attention off my problems. It did, thankfully. 

"Don't know. Haven't received any news about it." he said sadly. 

"Don't assume the worst. Makes the paranoia set in." Luz said, taking a drink. Bill and I gave him a look. "What? It's true!" he defended. 

"Doesn't mean you have to say it." Bill told him before silence. The guys finished their drinks while the family was still upstairs. After a while, Joe sat up straighter and turned to me. 

"Can I ask you something?" he asked me. 

"You technically just did, but sure." I answered, crossing my arms over my chest. 

"Are kids difficult to handle?" he asked, bluntly. 

"Why would you need to know?" Bill asked him before I could answer. 

"I'm going to be an uncle, I gotta  know!" he exclaimed, his face stricken with slight horror. 

"Kids are fine as long as their spoiled and educated. " I said, raising my hand up to my mouth. "Something my brother is not." I mumbled under my breath jokingly which got a rise out of the three. We laughed a bit before calming down, the tension in the room beginning to settle. Maurice came back down with the man and the young boy. The boys carried a couple cots while Maurice had her arms full of blankets and pillows. 

"Our living room is open so if you need to leave in the morning you can. We are glad to house you for the night." Maurice told  us as I stood up to help her, the other three following suit, taking the two  cots from the boys before they retreated upstairs and come back with two more. 

"You need anything else for  the night?" Maurice asked me as the two went back upstairs where they  stayed for the night. 

"No, thank you. I think we'll be fine. Thank you for letting us stay in your home. If we need to leave early, we will do so with very little noise." I told her as Bill took some of the blankets from Maurice and I. 

"You're very welcome. I pray good night  to you." She told me, bowing her head  to me before retreating upstairs to her husband. I threw a pillow  at Joe and Luz, hitting them in the back  of the head as they set up their cots. 

"Hey!" Joe began to defend. 

"Shut up, man. They're trying to sleep." Bill lectured him, pointing up the stairs. 

"Yeah, Joe. Shut up." Luz mocked, earning another pillow to the head, except this time it was from Joe. 

"All of you shut up." I said almost in a whisper, pulling back the blanket on my cot before sitting down, about to untie my boots. Bill did the same, except took his jacket off first. We all had either our PT shirts on or one of the military shirts under our gear. I had both a military green shirt and a military green tank under that. Once I managed to rip my boots off and set them at the foot of my cot, I shrugged my jacket off my shoulders before pulling my shirt  over my head, leaving me in just the tank and my pants. 

''Finally. Some warm blankets." Joe mumbled to himself as he curled up under the blanket. 

"These people treat us better than the regiment does." Luz added, pulling his blanket up to chin and shutting his eyes. I waited until Bill crawled under his blanket before getting up and shutting the lamp off, darkness filling the room. 

"Good night, guys." I said, siting back onto my cot. 

"Good night, Gabi." I heard Bill whisper from under his blanket, followed by two other murmurs. I laid down on my cot, throwing the blanket over me and letting out a sigh. 

"You guys think they'll find us in the morning?" Luz asked out of the blue. 

"George, shut up  and go to sleep." 

**~End of Chapter 5~**


	6. Well, Shit! We Lost Bull!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still in Holland, Bull gets left behind :'( y'all know what happened

**Gabriella's POV**

 

**~**

 

I was the first to wake up the next morning. I had managed to get dressed and clean up my area before waking the others. They all grumbled at me, but I ignored it as I neatly folded the blankets from our cots and stacking them in the corner of the room. I left the pillows on the cots before leaving the guys to get dressed. I searched for a piece of paper and something to write with before scribbling out a note, thanking the family for their hospitality and what not before the guys were done. We gathered our things and left with little noise. The walk back to the muster point was quiet, as the three were still half asleep. I walked behind them to make  sure they didn't fall behind and get lost. 

By the time we reached our spots before the lieutenants, the three were wide awake and ready to move out. We were reminded of our objective for **Operation: Market Garden.** We had some tanks and trucks coming in to transport us to the town we were to invade next. I took my seat on the the left side of the canon with Toye next to me in my right and Bill leaning against my left leg. 

I watched as the first few farm houses came into view down the road. From there, some of us who had our helmets off, had placed them back on our heads- ready for any sort of attack. We all remained quiet as we were driven closer and closer to the town before the tank ahead of us stopped and one of the Lieutenants stepped off and began walking forward and scoping out the area. We couldn't see much from behind the first tank, we could only hear Bull call for the Lieutenant before a gun shot and a German vehicle zipped past our left flank. We pushed past each other in a fury to get  to the ditch to avoid getting hit. I watched from over the road as a medic- not Roe- run over to help the Lieutenant who was hit, only to get hit himself, which was a war crime of sorts. Bull had gotten out of the way before he was hit which was a fortunate thing to happen. 

Les Hashy was at the front of the line of Easy Company in the ditch when Bull told us to move. From where I sat, it seemed like he was about to move, but when the medic got hit, he hesitated and fell back a bit. I was about to go up and start moving the line when Bull pushed Hashy forward and we began to move into the town as one of the tanks hit the vehicle that fired at us. I ran ahead with Gaurnere and a couple others before waving the rest to follow  us as we ducked behind buildings and small shacks acting as tool sheds. 

"Edwards! Bring the squad around the right!" Gaurnere called to me. I  turned to him and nodded before signalling for  the squad to follow me as he followed in the back as we crouched low and slow around the right side of the farm house where a sniper was hiding. I stopped the squad at a door; they separated and crouched on either side of the door before Gaurnere signaled for a couple of them  to break through the threshold. 

"You four, help them clear the building then meet up with us, go!" I told four others, pushing the first one into the building. I moved forward, peeking around the building only to have shots fired at the wall. I ducked back, but Perconte was crouched so close behind my leg that I stumbled over him. 

''You two ok?" Gaurnere called to us as I pulled Perconte off the ground and gave him a thumbs up. I was about to look around the corner once more only to see a martyr being moved onto our position. 

"Move out! They've got us pinned!" I yelled at them, pushing  them away from the building. We ran through the yard and over a wooden fence as the blast went off behind us; those falling behind being pushed forward by the force, but otherwise untouched. I waved them all to hide behind another- smaller- building as the dust cleared, which gave us the advantage of not losing our position so easily. I stayed close to the  corner and Perconte wasn't so close which meant I didn't have to stumble over him again. When the dust and smoke settled more, I was able to send a few of them forward without sending them in blindly. I motioned for the rest of them- lead by Gaurnere- around another building so we had flanked the group of crouts that had shot at us on both sides. With both sides covered, we managed to open fire until they either dropped dead or ran for cover, leaving the martyr alone for us to destroy and give us one less problem. 

After that problem was solved, we met up with Bull's squad and took cover behind a building as Martin and Heffron ran out towards the British tank coming towards us. I watched as Martin motioned towards a building, to which I peered around and saw a German tiger. I glanced back at the tanks to see Martin get frustrated before jumping off the tank, telling the British Officer something before he and Heffron fell back into position, and the tanks moved forward. 

"What are they doing?" Bill questioned from beside me. 

"They don't see the German tank, that's for sure." I told him as the tanks rounded the corner, the tiger aiming for them and taking out the second one in line. We all ducked behind a piece of a building to protect us from shrapnel and debris flying everywhere before Bull started yelling at us to fall back. I looked around as the German tank aimed for the first in line British Tank, if it missed, it would hit us. 

I grabbed the sleeves of a few of the replacements and pushed them forward before running away from what could be a tank shell hit. I ducked behind a solid brick wall no more than 3 feet tall. A few others followed my suit, but I didn't bother seeing who it was. I began to open covering fire as German gunmen ran at us from behind some houses. Once the last of our men were past us, I waved at the others to fall back before following them, dodging bullets from the covering fire and the Germans. 

By the time I reached a road, I had a few Germans hot on my tail as I rounded the corner, only to be met by more Germans. I skid to a partial stop and turned around to run back towards the ditch before feeling a bullet hit the back of my helmet. Without thinking, I fell to the ground, except I turned and landed on my back, my head turned towards the buildings on my right with the ditch and open field to my left. I felt blood start to trickle down my neck, leaving me to think something had hit more than just my helmet. I saw Gaurnere and Toye crouched behind a wall. I think Bill must have thought I was hit, because he went to stand up as the Germans came closer from both sides. 

"Gabi!" I heard him call as my vision blurred a bit, but Toye pulled him back down and around a building- out of sight from me and the Germans. I managed to slow my breathing and hold it as German soldiers stood no more than a few feet from me. I went limp. No muscle in my body was tense, except for my lungs as I slowly released a silent breathe and hold there. A German soldier kicked my helmet off my head as I refrained myself from flinching. I kept my gaze locked on where Gaurnere and Toye were last as the German passed.

I heard an older German soldiers say something to a younger boy, no older than 18, before running down the road with the other German soldiers. The  young boy lifted his rifle and let out a shot. I felt it hit my chest, but didn't feel it hit flesh. The young boy then ran to catch up with his crew as I inhaled deeply before exhaling roughly. Getting shot at point blank range wasn't painless, even if it didn't hit skin and tissue. 

I moved my eyes down the road, past my feet to see the older German and the kid talking, looking back at my direction. The Older German probably told the kid to  double tap, but the kid probably didn't know how to do it properly. Without second thought, I reached my hand up, grabbed my helmet and rolled to  the ditch. Once I hit  the grass I started crawling low to the ground towards the t-intersection was and where my comrades were running. Someone must have given the order to fall back as gun fire and martyr blasts went off in the town. I crawled faster as I heard the kid shouting at me. I looked back to see him and the older German running after me, dodging gun fire. I must have dropped my gun somewhere because I didn't have it on me. All I had was my pistol. I rolled onto my back, unzipped my jacket and reached inside. I pulled the pistol free from its hold and aimed at the two soldiers before firing, both shots went straight through  their skulls as their bodies collapsed on the road. I let out a breathe before putting my pistol back in the holster in my jacket before getting up and running. I stopped at the corner of the road as three men ran past me with a wooden door. Why, I didn't know, but it must have been important. 

For some reason, I waited in the corner of the ditch. I tried to search my brain for reasons, but I couldn't find any. 

 _'There isn't a reason, Gabriella. Get out of the ditch.'_ I told myself silently before pushing myself to my feet and running through the ditch, dodging bullets every which way. Up ahead, I saw three of the men pulling Buck on the wooden door. He held onto the top of the door with one hand and held bandages in place with the other. I ran up faster until I managed to catch up to them before picking up the bottom of the door so it didn't drag on the grass, slowing them down. One of them looked back and happened to be Gaurnere. His eyes filled with rage of sorts before he turned to look forward again.

I dropped the bottom of the door as we reached a truck. Bullets weren't reaching us any more because of the distance. The other three lifted Buck into the truck as I walked around to the side. I lifted my hand to the back  of my head and felt where a wound might be and where the blood came from. I  flinched as the contact with my finger stung like a son of a bitch. I let my hand fall and wiped the blood off my finger tips before being pushed- aggressively-  into the side of the truck. 

"What the fuck were you thinking?!" Bill screamed, his fists held tightly onto the front of my jacket. "Were you trying to get yourself killed?!"

"I'm fine, thanks." I retorted as questioning glances were pointing at us. My hands found their way to his in a weak attempt to make him let go of my jacket. 

"What did you think was going to happen, huh?" He questioned angrily. "That they were just going to think you were dead and move on!? Give your head a shake!" He yelled once more. 

"Come on, Bill. Lay off a little." Joe told him from behind him. 

"What, like you've never had to play dead before?!" I yelled back. It was the only thing I could do considering I was pinned against the truck. 

"You ever pull a stunt like that again, I'ma shoot you myself, you understand me?" He  threatened, looking me dead in the eye. By now, both of us were feeling some sort of anger. 

"Well, welcome to reality. Everyone does stupid stuff here. I thought you would know out of everyone here." I told him, finally able to push his hands off my jacket. Without another word, he grabbed his rifle off the ground and walked away and into the back  of a truck. He'd probably be pissed at me for a while now. I took my helmet off as Joe turned towards me. 

"You alright?" He asked. 

"I'm fine." I said rather harshly, walking towards another truck that was only half empty. I took my seat beside Tony Garcia. 

"That's not what I meant. You were shot. How are you not dead?" Joe asked, sitting beside me. I looked down at where the bullet went through my jacket, but didn't hit flesh. I opened my jacket and saw I had my hidden inside pocket. I reached in and pulled out a pocket watch I didn't know I had there. The bullet was stuck  in the front of it. I clicked a button and it sprung open, a folded up piece of paper inside. 

_**"We send our wishes of luck on your journey. From our family and all of Holland."** _

"Must be from the family  we stayed with." Joe said as I tucked the piece of paper back into the pocket inside my jacket. The glass protecting the clock hands and anything beneath it was cracked, but the watch was still ticking. I smiled as I closed it and put  it back in my pocket. The truck began to move as we pulled away from the town. I guess Operation Market Garden was a fail. We didn't liberate anything and we didn't keep a strong hold on the town. All we did was get shot at and lose men. 

Hell, by the time we reached a hill over looking the town that was now on fire, I was just learning of what we lost: Private Miller was among them. When we first set up on the hill, I  sat next to Les Hashy and Tony Garcia. They were Miller's closest friends and they seemed a bit down. I made sure they were ok and got a bit of food in them before Bill approached  us. 

"Hey, Gabi. Can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked before lighting up a smoke. I nodded before standing up off the ground. Bill turned as we began to walk towards the tree line. We were silent until we were out of ear shot of any one.

"I just wanna apologize for how I acted earlier. I guess you could say I overreacted a little bit." He told me, his head hanging down in shame. 

"A little bit?" I questioned with a chuckle. 

"Alright, maybe a lot." he said, a grin peaked in the corner of his mouth. "But still, I shouldn't have freaked out at you like that. I'm sorry." He said, turning his head to look at me. 

"You had every right to be worried, Bill. You know I'd probably freak out at you like that if you played dead in front of the Germans." I told him, getting a little bit of a laugh out of him. 

"Yeah, that's true." He said, looking up a bit. "I'd probably have you _and_ Joe on my ass about it for a week." 

"That is why we call you Wild Bill, though." I told him, bumping his shoulder. 

"You got a point there." he laughed until we heard foot steps approaching. We turned to see Joe and George walking towards us. 

"It's about time you two made up. We thought you were going to hate each other forever!" George exclaimed, a smoke hanging off the corner of his mouth. 

"You show him the watch yet?" Joe asked happily, like he was excited about it.

"The watch?" Bill questioned softly, looking at me confused. I pulled the watch out of the inside of my jacket, revealing where the bullet went. 

"So that's how you're not dead....huh." George said almost in realization. I couldn't help but chuckle a bit at his remark. 

"You got some serious luck considering we're surrounded by crouts." Bill said as his smoke came closer to being done. 

"Yeah, I guess I do." I muttered, remembering all  the letters from the president and my family wishing me luck. I guess it came in handy after all. But it also was a matter of time before my luck ran out, and I was as good as dead, or one of my friends ended up taking the  blow. That'd be the day I left this part of the world and never came back. 

~

By the time morning came around, everyone was filled to the brim with anxiety. We hadn't heard from or seen Bull since we pulled back from the town. A group of men, including Webster, had left some time last night after ignoring Bill's reassurance that Bull was fine. We sat in a small opening down the ditch from the road where our trucks were parked. We were preparing to move out. That didn't sit well with a few of the men, especially those from Bull's squad. None of us  wanted to leave without him, dead or alive. We didn't know what was worse: knowing we left him in the town while he was still alive or leaving without confirmation or proof that he was dead. I, myself, thought of Bull as a close friend, someone I could trust and fight beside. Others, thought of him more of the father figure of the squad. He didn't yell or get angry with a replacement if they screwed up. He was chill like that, and I guess everybody appreciated that after what we went through with Sobel. 

As I placed my  helmet on my head, ready to head to the trucks, I heard someone call out, but I didn't hear what it was exactly. I looked over to the dirt road to see a patrol truck with the crew that went out last night, and to my surprise, Bull. 

I had immediately dropped my stuff, my helmet included, before fast walking with the others to greet Bull. He seemed to be favoring his arm and shoulder a bit. I don't doubt he left that town without getting some sort of cut, scrape or bruise. As everyone greeted him, I stood behind the group with a grin on my face. It was a miracle he made it out of there alone and without drawing the Germans to our position. I then noticed he had turned to face me as I was in my own little world. 

"I believe this belongs to you." he said, holding out my dog tags, something I didn't know I had lost. My hand immediately went to my neck where there was nothing but dirt plastered skin and no chain to be felt. The clasp must have broken when I fell and played dead. Maybe it was what cut my neck and left the crouts to think I was shot in the back of the head.

"Thanks, Bull." I said, gratefully taking my dog tags back. "It's good to see you made it out alive." I told him with a smile before Winters called out to everybody that we were moving out. Us Sergeants and Lieutenants called out to our respective groups to pack up and move out. They probably wanted us back at an Allied safe zone to regroup after our failed Operation. 

On the plus side, we had Bull back and I had found out what caused the back of my head to bleed: the bullet hit my helmet and ricocheted behind me and a tiny piece hit my dog tags that now reside in my pocket with the pocket watch. I got stitched up last night and now that we're heading to some sort of safe zone, I might be able to get them fixed. 

 

  **~End of Chapter 6~**


	7. Schoonderlogt Resort

**Gabriella's POV**

**~**

We were holed up in a small town named  Schoonderlogt. After the stunt I pulled last time, Winters- and Bill- were skeptical about putting me out on the field, so I offered to stay back for a while, help Doc Roe with any injuries that happened while the other men were out or help with paper work. It seemed to be quiet; other companies were fighting the Germans and trying to get over the Rhine and helping out the British. All while Easy Company stood guard at temporary Battalion CP offices and slept in barns. Tab found this German Shepard dog and befriended it. It followed him around wherever he went. 

~

Colonel Sink gave me paper work to sort through, but I finished that task in a matter of minutes, a skill I acquired from working in the White House. Sink let me have the rest of the day and night to do what ever I wanted so I tried to find Joe, but he seemed to have disappeared so I went back to the barn where first squad was bunked, knowing George was probably there. I walked through one side of the barn doors and was greeted by the dog Tab befriended. 

"Hey, Gabs!" George waved as I shut the door to  the barn. I walked over to the spot in the corner where Tab, George and Winters were sitting. 

"Want some crackers?" George asked before I could even sit down. 

"Sure." I answered, swiping one from the tin he was holding. I sat down on the hay bale next to George as Tab's dog came over and he tossed a stick for him. 

"What you name it?" Winters asked Tab as the dog ran to retrieve the stick thrown for him. 

"Trigger." he replied as the dog came back. 

"I like that... Trigger." George said, a mouthful of dry crackers, probably the remains of the rations from the first world war if you ask me. I sat quietly, the men around me mumbling a few things to each other. There wasn't much to do since no one wanted to put Easy to work. Other companies were sent to help the British Germans and Easy Company slept in barns, eating stale crackers from the Civil War and making friends the dogs. Even after all we'd seen on the front, by now we all wished for a chance to do something other than sit on our asses. Hell, even if they put us on another plane and dropped us into Africa, it'd still be better than sitting in a cold barn with our thumbs up our asses. 

I shifted to sit up and placed my hands down by my hips to push myself up in my attempt to leave before a crew blasted through the barn doors screaming something about medics. I was the first to jump to my feet as they placed a body on the table in the center of the barn. I ran over as they situated him and tried to find something to stop the bleeding with. Liebgott explained what happened to Winters before another voice pipped up, complaining about Joe's loud mouth. It was then that I noticed Joe was bleeding from the neck, but not too terribly. I ripped open a nearby bandage and pushed my way towards him, placing the bandage on his neck as the others tried to help the guy on the table, who I recognized as Alley, one of the Toccoa men I think. I never really paid any attention to him until he was bleeding out on the table in front of me. 

I quickly tied the bandage around Joe's neck as Roe rushed in and the men started to disperse. Lipton assembled a squad for Winters and those men left. Joe took a step back as Roe was telling me and a couple other guys what to do. Eventually, a couple other medics showed up and took Alley away on a stretcher, followed by Roe and one of the men that was there with Alley when he got messed up. Probably for back story, CP would want to know everything that happened. As for the rest of us, well, we were left standing around the bloodied up table in the middle of the barn. From the time Alley was brought in to the time he was dragged out, it couldn't have been more than 8 minutes. I looked down at my feet and noticed my boots had blood all over them, but my hands were worse. It was a mix of Liebgott's blood and Alley's blood. I walked over to the doors to the barn and left. There were a few soldiers here and there, whispering about Alley. They probably saw him get carried away to a hospital or to an Aid Station, but since the medics don't stop to answer questions, everyone who saw them run by was clueless. 

I shuffled on along the walls of nearby buildings until I reached a small creak. I scrubbed my hands the best I could without being able to see very well in the dark. There wasn't a full moon out tonight, which meant very little light outside. But once I was sure I got most of the blood washed off, I grabbed a piece of cloth from my pocket and dipped it in the cold water of the creak, scrubbing my hands more and even wiping my boots off. I would probably get to clean them more when its light outside and I can see what I'm doing. 

Instead of fussing with getting blood out of every little rack on my dried up hands, I walked over to a building next to the CP building. The bottom corner of the building was a little torn up, but it wasn't much to worry about. Just another doorway. I climbed the stairs up to the third floor and pulled the ladder down from the ceiling of the hallway. I climbed up the ladder, but left it down for the night and crawled over to the little square window where my stuff was spread out, cushioning me from the hard, wood floor. I didn't have a blanket and I regret not finding one tonight because it got awful cold up here. I shuffled my bag around, fluffing it up like you would a pillow before digging my lighter out of my pocket and lighting the candle on the window sill. If any wind came through the worn out window frame, it was sure to blow the candle out so I moved it to the floor beside me, but just above where my bag sat so I had less chances of bumping it. I laid down on my back at first, staring up at the ceiling. I could see more of the blood left over on my hands now that I had a little light. I hadn't heard of any light discipline so it was safe to use the candle, I guess. 

Even though there wasn't much action for today, I was still pretty worn out. I started to fall asleep to the thought that I hadn't seen Bill or Joe Toye today. I guess it made my day a little more boring without those two around. Before I feel asleep, I told myself that I would check in with them in the morning, make sure they didn't get themselves killed. 

 

 ~~~~~~~~~

_The cold bit us down to the bone. Without proper clothes for winter, enough ammo to last us 10 minutes of fighting at least and starvation was likely to get us._

**_Gabs!!_**

_The trees were cut in half by artillery, the company scattered through the forest._

**_GABRIELLA!!!_ **

_My friends torn to pieces, my soul shattered as the Germans took over._

**_Gabs....please...._ **

_Blood...nothing but blood...._

**_no...don't go....._ **

_Black...._

~~~~~~~~~

"Gabs, wake up." I jolted awake from the nightmare, if you would even call it that, to someone shaking me from my sleep. I reached for my pistol in a panic until I realized it was Joe Toye that had waken me. "Jeez, didn't mean to scare you." 

"Can't scare me if I was scared to begin with." I mumbled as I sat up and rubbed my eyes. "What time is it?" I asked in a grumbly voice.

"Not morning time, that's for sure." he answered, sitting back and crossing his legs in front of him. 

"Then why am I awake?" I questioned, noticing the blanket on my legs. 

"You kept twitching and moving in your sleep, thought you were having a nightmare." He replied calmly. 

"That's 'cause I was." I mumbled, leaning against the window sill to my right. I looked at Joe who was picking at the laces on his boots. "How'd you find me up here?" I asked in a quiet voice. 

"Just lucky I guess. Couldn't sleep so I decided to explore. Then I found you." He answered before looking up at me. "Hiding away from everyone like usual." he finished, earning a chuckle from me. 

"It's been a long day." I said, running a hand through my hair and down my face. I noticed Joe watching my hand and he must have noticed the blood still on it. 

"You were there when Alley was brought in, weren't you?" he asked. I only nodded, picking at the nail of my pointer finger with my thumb. I looked out the window next to me and saw close to no sign of life. The only people out were those on watch and maybe a higher ranking officer at random. A yawn snuck up on me before I laid back down on the floor, pulling the blanket closer to my chest. I rubbed my eyes once more as I felt more tired. I shut my eyes for a second before hearing Joe shuffled around close to my feet. I opened one eye and saw him drag his bag over and set it down next to mine. He laid down and let out a sigh. 

"Man, this place is boring." He mumbled before closing his eyes. I turned onto my left side and threw part of the blanket over him, knowing he probably was the one who threw the blanket over my first. I shut my eyes, ready to go to back to sleep as I heard him shuffle a little closer before going still. 

"G'night." I whispered, half asleep, moving my left arm in between my head and my bag. 

"G'night...." 

 

**~The Next Morning~**

 

I woke up once again to someone kicking my boot. I lifted my head and saw Nixon standing at my feet smiling. I gave him a confused and tired look before I realized Joe and I had curled up closer to each other, the blanket pulled up to our chins. 

"You two cold or somethin'?" Nixon grinned, lighting a smoke. I only groaned and let my head fall back to its previous position as Joe pulled part of the blanket over his head. ''Come on, you two. We got shit to do today. Winters wants to see you, Gabriella." He said before lightly kicking mine and Joe's boots once more before leaving. I sighed before sitting up, the part of the blanket that covered my chest fell and covered Joe's head again as he pushed his part of the blanket off him. I used the window sill to pull myself up before stretching, a couple joints cracking in the process. Joe didn't seem bothered by it as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. I grabbed the blanket and folded it before setting it down by my bag. I ran my hands through my hair to try and brush it out, but ended up saying 'Fuck it' and just tied it back as is. As long as the top was smoothed out and it was somewhat presentable, I was good. I grabbed my cap and looked out the window. I saw Liebgott walking down the street, ushering 11 SS soldiers down the street. 

"Shit, did they send out another squad?" I asked as Joe stood up and stretched, trying to wake up. 

"Who knows. Why?" He answered, grabbing his cap as well and standing beside me at the window. 

"Prisoners." I said, pointing at Liebgott down on the street. In no time, both of us had raced down the ladder and closing the trap door and racing down the stairs until we were outside. I placed the cap on top of my head as Joe followed. 

"Lieb! What's going on?" I called as I approached him, the prisoners and a couple other guards. 

"We took out an  entire company of SS. You should probably see Winters about it, though." He explained as he and the other soldiers began leading the SS soldiers to a building for interrogation. I started off walking with a fast paced until it turned to jogging until I found Winters, Joe was trailing behind, yelling at me to stop running, but I didn't listen. I rushed into the CP office to see Nixon, Lieutenant Dyke and Colonel Sink standing around a table. I stopped and saluted until they each returned it. 

"Winters is upstairs in the building across the street if that's what you're looking for." Sink told me. 

"Thank you, sir." I said before saluting again and leaving. Joe had waited outside the door for me. 

"What's the big rush?" he asked. 

"I don't know. I just got a bad feeling about this." I answered as we crossed the street. I walked through the door as two men walked out. I brushed shoulders with them, but made no effort to apologize which isn't like me. I practically leaped up the stairs until I found Winters, who sat at a table, writing up a report on the type-writer. 

"Nixon said you wanted to see me, sir." I said with a salute as Joe stopped behind me and followed suit. 

"Yes, about that." he said, sifting through papers on his desk. "I'm sure by now you've heard about the attack at the crossroads." He said, standing up and looking through more papers. 

"I knew that first squad was sent out with you after they  brought Alley back. I wasn't aware that they sent another squad." I told him. He looked at me with confusion. 

"How did you know about that?" he questioned.

"We ran into Liebgott and the SS prisoners on our way here." Joe spoke up. Winters picked up a stack of papers.

"I think it's going to be rather calm after all the excitement, so Joe, if you could bring these down to the CP office for me, while you're here." Winters said, handing Joe the stack of papers. 

"Yes, sir." I could tell Joe didn't like the idea of being errand boy right now, but I also knew Winters probably had more papers for me to sort through which would probably be more hectic considering they covered his desk and parts of the floor. Joe turned around and left without another word and Winters went back to his desk. 

"I need you to do some inventory on the Company. Ammo. Food rations. Men. Everything. I want to know how many we sent to the hospital and how many we plan on bringing in to replace the ones we sent off." Winters told me. It was sorting papers, but it was still hell. 

"Yes sir." I said. he opened a drawer and pulled out a clipboard, sheets of paper and a pen and pencil. 

"Rough draft in pencil,  final in pen." he reminded me, handing me the supplies. 

"Got it." I said, taking the supplies. I placed the pen and pencil in my breast pocket of my jacket and clipped the papers into the clipboard. I looked up at Winters and gave a salute before leaving. I sighed as I stepped out into the sunlight of day. 

"So what job did you get stuck with?" I looked to my left and saw Joe sitting there waiting on a crate, a smoke hanging off the corner of his lip. 

"Inventory." I mumbled, walking over and leaning against the wall beside him. I shifted the clipboard to sit under my right arm as I snagged the cigarette from his mouth and took a drag before handing it back. 

"You could have just asked, you know?" He chuckled. I paid no attention to it and instead watched officers walk in and out of the CP until he nudged my arm. I looked down and saw his hand extended, holding out another cigarette. I accepted the offer, digging my lighter out of my pocket. I lit the smoke and put my lighter back in my pocket, taking the clipboard out of under my arm. With the smoke in the corner of my lips, I flipped through all the pages and realized they were all blank, which meant I had to get the inventory and then organize the information before handing it in. 

"Fuck." I mumbled, inhaling a bit before exhaling smoke. 

"What?" Joe asked, throwing the cigarette butt out to his left side. 

"Inventory just got a whole lot more interesting." I mumbled, showing him all the blank pages. He just laughed and let his head rest against the wall behind him. 

"I better get started on this or else I'll be at it all day." I mumbled, inhaling and exhaling again. 

"Want some help?" he asked, letting his feet dangle off the end of the crate. 

"Nah, its fine. Go find some trouble." I told him, pushing myself off the wall I was leaning again, taking the smoke out of my mouth and holding it in the same hand as the clipboard. 

"Yes, ma'am." He  said before I walked away. I separated the goods by squad and then double checked with the company as a whole in the CP office. By the time I was done, it was 11 at night,  I hadn't eaten all day and my hand and wrist ached from all the writing. I dropped my final papers off at the CP office and retired to the attic  where I slept the night before. To my surprise, the door to the attic of the building was already open and Joe was cooking something on one of those tiny stove-like fire stands. 

"If you set the building on fire, I swear to god." I said in a playful manner, which took a lot of effort since I was drained of any energy. Joe chuckled as I sat down by the window sill and ripped my boots off my feet. 

"How was inventory?" he asked, probably already knowing my answer. 

"Hell." I muttered, resting my head against the window sill and closing my eyes. 

"You look exhausted." He said, stifling a chuckle. 

"If you keep stating the obvious, I'm going to smack you." I threatened. It was quiet in the attic aside from the light noise of Joe cooking. 

"Considering you kicked my ass a couple times in basic, I think I'll behave." He said. Joe fussed around a bit more before nudging my leg. I opened an eye to see him holding out a cup in my direction. 

"Chances are you haven't eaten all day." He said, placing the cup by my foot. I took the cup and went back to leaning against the wall, eating slowly. My thoughts put me in a silent trance as I mindlessly ate my food, only coming back to reality when I had no more food in my cup. I left it on the window sill as I slowly feel to my left until my head hit my bag and my eyes were too heavy to open. I moved around until I was comfortable and before long, I was asleep once more. 

 

  **~End of Chapter 7~**


	8. Operation Pegasus

**Gabriella's POV**

~

When I woke up the next morning, it had started snowing lightly, but nothing to be worried about. I had left the attic before Joe even woke up. I checked in with CP and Winters looking for something to do. Fortunately, there was no work I needed to do. I could ask around for anything to do, but it was unlikely. I found Winters in a different office than last time. Just like CP, he had nothing for me to do. I figured since it was October and I hadn't written in a while, that I might as well write home to my family. It had been just over a month since the deaths of my little sisters and our housemaid. My decision to not come home until my work here was done had reached my family and they postponed the actual funeral service until I do get home, but still buried them in the family slots in the graveyard; the housemaids family had taken care of her funeral arrangements although my family still honored her since she was so respected in our house. After I wrote back to their letter, there had been no more contact between my family and I. Not only was I focusing on my job, but my mom probably didn't want to get her hopes up about anything. 

~

After some time of being stationed in the same spot, people started getting fussy until word of a new operation started going around. I ignored it for the most part, knowing it probably had something to do with the British. Joe had been finding trouble while I helped Winters with paperwork and such until he got a new orderly and I was moved to helping around in the CP office. Joe didn't really like that because when ever he was bored I was "too busy playing receptionist and he couldn't bother me". His words. 

Eventually, I was let go from the work because there was nothing more to be done since no one was doing anything and there was no action going on. Joe was long gone by the time I left the office and no one else was around. Trying to find everyone was a hassle since they were all gearing up for a new mission that I wasn't aware of. I found Nixon, one other officer and a British officer standing together, talking. I rushed over and stopped a few feet away as Nixon turned his attention to my presence. I gave a salute to which all three returned before Nixon spoke up. 

"So they let you out of CP, I see." He said jokingly. 

"Yes, but I wasn't aware that there was a new mission of sorts." I stated, letting both my hands rest at my side. 

"Some of the British troops are trapped on the other side of the river. We're taking boats across to rescue them. A quick job through the night. Nothing to worry about." The other officer, who's name I think is Moose, explained. 

"Yes, we're very grateful for the American help. Will you be joining us?" The British officer asked me. 

"I'm not sure. I wasn't told of this operation since I've been working in CP for the last couple days." I answered. 

"Well, maybe you'll get a night off from working. We have set plans and head count for tonight." Nixon told me, taking out his flask. 

"I understand. Is Joe Toye going to be with you tonight?" I asked, knowing if he was, I'd be alone until he got back. Most of my friends in this company seemed to be going on this mission which would most likely leave me bored out of my mind.

"I believe so." Nixon answered, taking a sip from his flask and putting it away. Boredom it is. Before anyone else could say anything more, Colonel Sink called everyone to attention. I bid them all good luck before slipping away from the crowd and back towards CP. I hadn't really done anything today so eating was unnecessary. I could go see Doc Roe and check if he needs any help, but there wasn't any action until tonight so I doubt it. Winters was working, like usual, so it was best not to bother him. I didn't have anymore books with me so reading was out of the picture unless I wanted to learn how to read German or French. And for some reason this operation spiked my nerves so I knew sleeping probably wasn't any option. 

With no other option, I went back to CP, looking for something to do, anything. Finally, someone had given me the small task of bringing a stack of papers up to Winters for him to sign. And I was on my way again. Although it wasn't too far, it gave me opportunity to do something. 

When I reached the building Winters was in, the chatter about Operation Pegasus had died down, probably because they had left, and I was left wondering what would happen. But I managed to hide my nerves as I knocked on the door to Winters' office. 

"Come in." He said from inside the room. I shifted the stack of papers in my arms and opened the door, shutting it behind me. I walked up the few stairs until I was in sight of him and his orderly, Silinski. 

"Evening, Edwards." He greeted before looking back down at the paperwork in front of him. 

"Evening, Sir." I returned the greeting. "Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I got some more stuff for your to sign. Straight from CP." Winters looked up at the stack of papers in my hand and sighed. 

"Bring it over. You can set it on that pile right there." He said, pointing a pencil at a stack of papers on the floor next to his desk. I knelt down to put the papers down and as I stood up to leave, Winters stopped working and stood u straight. 

"I thought you would have been going with the rest of the Company on Operation Pegasus?" He questioned. 

"I didn't know it was happening until I got out of CP earlier. Nixon and Moose didn't need anymore people going tonight so I guess I'm stuck with staying back looking for something to do." I explained the situation. Winters looked skeptical at first, but then nodded in agreement or approval, I wasn't sure which one. 

"That would make sense in these circumstances. Any extra men would probably mean more trips across the river. More than necessary." He muttered before piking up the cup on his desk and finishing the contents inside before turning to his orderly. "You mind getting me another cup of coffee." The young man nodded before Winters turned to me. "You want anything?" He asked. 

"Tea, if you can find it. Please and thanks." I answered before Silinsky left the officer. Winters went back to working, but he looked like his mind was somewhere else. Like he was worried about the mission just as much as I was, or maybe more. 

"You're thinking about what's going to happen tonight, aren't you?" I asked, leaning against a dresser of sorts. I crossed my arms over my chest as Winters stopped signing papers and looked up at me. 

"And you're not?" He replied. 

"Oh I am. Mainly because most of my friends in this company are going which leaves me alone until they get back." I explained as Winters sat down in the old chair behind him. 

"Yeah." He groaned as he rubbed his eyes. He'd probably been working since early in the morning. I took the pile of papers off a chair and set them on the dresser beside another stack and sat down. I wasn't feeling tired, but boredom does something to you, especially this late at night....well, this early in the morning I guess. Silinsky came back a couple minutes later with two cups in hand. He handed one to me before setting the other on Winters' desk. I slowly sipped my tea as Silinsky organized some already signed papers. 

"Just sign these here...here...and here. That should be enough for Sink tonight. I recommend you get some rest, sir." Silinsky told him before leaving with a stack of papers, leaving an open spot on the desk. Winters sat there for a moment or two before standing up. 

"He's right. You should get some rest too. Who knows what's going to happen tomorrow when they come back." he said. I stood up from my chair, reading to bring my tea with me. 

"Yeah. Good night, sir." I said, giving a weak salute, to which he returned, before leaving the small office. I finished my tea before I left the building so I left it on a window ledge close to the front door since I had no idea where it came from. 

I retired to my nightly spot in the building attic with a lit candle, but tonight I had the window open with hopes that if anyone came yelling down the street, it would wake me and I could run out to help if needed. The last thing I needed was people thinking I was useless. 

 

**~After four uneventful, sleepless hours...**

 

I woke up to the sound of someone clambering through the building. I shot up and grabbed my knife before blowing the candle out. I stepped closer to the ladder to the attic, to which I left open for Joe in case he came back before I woke up. I peered down and listened carefully. The sound of drunk men filled the building as a couple came up the stairs. I ducked out of sight, but listened and waited. They were rambling on about stuff and girls back home. It didn't take me long to realize it was the British troops, probably the ones Easy Company had to rescue from across the river. The guys stopped at the top of the stairs and it went quiet. 

"You think someone's up in that attic?" I heard one of them ask the other. That sent a spike of anxiety through me in an instant. 

"I see no other reason for it to be open like that.'' The second one slurred. I held my breath as I heard one set a glass or a bottle down on the railing, but missing the mark and the glassware falling down the stairs and shattering. 

"Maybe it's that pretty lady the Yanks have on their team." The first one implied, which scared me more than this war. Neither Bill or Joe were here to help if trouble found me. But I also thought of how I have the advantage being in the attic and with my knife and pistol close by. I heard one take a step closer and I tightened the grip on my knife before running footsteps came up the stairs. 

"What the hell are you guys doing?" A third voice questioned. It wasn't as slurred as the two British men and the third voice was definitely American. 

"Oh, you know...just guys being guys." The first man said. 

"Well, get out of here. This building is reserved for Americans." The third voice said, which was a partial lie. The buildings and shelters were free game. I tried to peer down the ladder and the British men were closer to it than I had anticipated.

"Sure...whatever you say...Yank." The pause between his words made it seem like he thought 'Yank' was an insult. I listened as two sets of foot steps went back down the stairs and one they were gone, a third running up to the ladder. 

"Gabs?" I held my knife in a readied position as a silhouette rushed up the ladder, but stopped once they saw me and it was then that I realized it was Joe, still in his gear. 

"You alright?"  he asked. It was visible he was tense with those British guys here. 

"Yeah, I'm good. " I answered, putting my knife down and moving out of the way. "Everything go alright at the river?" I asked, retreating to my spot by the window and fussing to find my lighter. 

"Yup. Not casualties. Everyone got back safe. I think Winters would be proud." he replied, pulling the ladder back up and sliding an old chest over the opening in the floor as well. Once I found my lighter, I lit the candle back up as Joe set his rifle down by his bag before sitting down with a groan. 

"You good?" I asked with a chuckle. He didn't reply, only fell onto his back. "I'll take that as a no." I said with a grin. 

"Those boats are awful." He groaned once more as he shifted so his head rest on his bag. 

"Get some sleep. I'm sure you'll feel better in the morning." I told him before closing the window and laying back down. I slept better the rest of the morning until someone tried to get into the attic, but couldn't because of the chest in the way. I got up and moved it, only for the person trying to get in was Liebgott. 

"You hiding something up here or what?" he asked. 

"There was some sketchy drunk guys falling through the building so Joe put the chest in the way so they couldn't get up here. What do you want?" I told him before rubbing my eyes. 

"Winters needs you. And wake up Joe. Nixon wants everyone who crossed the river to gather up soon." He said before turning to leave. 

"You got it." I said, standing up and walking back to the window. I kicked Joe's boot a couple times before grabbing my cap and pistol. I left my pistol in it's holster in my jacket and tucked my cap into my belt. 

"Joe, get up. You're needed outside." I said, kicking his boot a bit more. 

"No, go away." He moaned, half asleep. 

"Joe, I'm serious. Get up. Nixon needs everyone who crossed the river last night." I told him, stilling kicking his boot.

"No..." He mumbled once more. I stepped close to his arms and lightly kicked him in the ribs. 

"Joe, get up before I drag you down the stairs."  I warned. 

"Go ahead." He mumbled once more. I sighed before grabbing his rifle and tossing it over my shoulder. I threw the blanket of him and grabbed his boot and quiet literally, hoisted him a few feet away from his bag, which woke him right up. 

"Get up." I said before tossing his rifle at him. 

"Yes, ma'am." he said as I left. I walked down the stairs to see about 15 sleeping British troops in the main level of the building. I slipped out the door and into the street towards the CP office. I didn't even have to ask before I was directed to where Winters was: Up the stairs and third door on the right. I followed the instruction given until I was at the door as someone else was leaving which meant I didn't need to knock. 

"You wanted to see me, sir." I greeted as I stepped into the doorway. Winters had resumed his work from yesterday

"Yes, I need you to do me a favor." He said, grabbing some papers off the desk. "I need more inventory done. Nothing major like last time, but we're moving around soon and I need to know what we got." He told me. 

"Where are we moving to, sir?" I asked, taking the paper from him. 

"Unclear, but we are expected to move." He answered before going back to his work. I left with the papers and completed the inventory within an hour. Which was just in time because it was official we were moving out to a different location and everyone was getting ready to leave. Joe had packed up his stuff from the attic and the British soldiers were gone by the time I got there which was good for me. All I had to do was pack my bag and grab my rifle from CP. Which only took me about 10 minutes and I was rallied at the muster point by the trucks talking to Bull and Johnny. Another hour later, we were in trucks and leaving our previous station. 

 

  **~End of Chapter 8~**


	9. Moving Around

**Gabriella's POV**

**~**

**October 31st, 1944**

**Driel, Holland**

**~**

The town of Driel was the first time I had been let on any patrol since the stunt I pulled during Operation: Market Garden. The only problem was that Bill was in the hospital for a bullet wound to the leg which left Joe and I on our own. Which wasn't really a bad thing considering we did just fine in the last station while he was off and disappearing all the time. 

Patrols ran 24/7 in this town. I was never part of the daytime patrols, only nights. Which was the exact opposite for Joe. By the time I came back from a patrol, if a mess facility didn't have breakfast ready, he'd have something cooked up in a can by the time I got back and I did the same for him before I left for my patrols. The reason was mutual pain and suffering. No one liked patrols, but they needed to be done. I was probably the only troop in this company who didn't have too big of a problem with them considering I did jack shit since my stunt. Except during my patrols, the most action I'd seen was drunk American troops fleeing their posts. Getting to help court martial them was fun, but not what I wanted to do. Even Joe saw more excitement on a couple of his rotated patrols when a group of drunken Germans stumbled into our area. The look of pride on his face when he dragged them into the CP for questioning was something any of us wouldn't forget. 

-

As I got ready for my turn on patrol, one of the younger replacements approached me. I had just grabbed my rifle and filled my canteen as Joe ate his food at the table behind me. 

"Excuse me, Sergeant Edwards?" The young lad asked as he stepped into the little kitchen area of the house we were sleeping in. 

"Yes, that's me." I said, ready to leave. 

"My name is Private Norman, I'm one of the replacements and I was wondering if I could join you and Sergeant Randleman on your patrol tonight. I've been told you two have a lot of wisdom when it comes to battle and I think I could learn something from you two." he explained his situation. I looked back at Joe who had a questioning expression on his face. I shrugged before turning back to the Private. 

"Are you needed elsewhere?" I asked him, hoisting the rifle back up on my shoulder. 

"No, ma'am. I even asked Captain Nixon and he said only if it's alright with you and Randleman. I figured I'd ask you first, though." He answered. He seemed nervous, which was typical with most replacements. 

"You got your stuff ready to go?" I asked him once more.

"Yes, everything I think I'll need, anyway." He answered. 

"Let's go find the Bull then." I told him before turning back to Joe. "I'll be back." I said before heading towards the door.

"Preferably in one piece!" he called out to me as I left the door, Private Norman following close behind. Private Norman was like most replacements: nimble, smart, but inexperienced, jumpy in the field. But like most replacements, you either get the hang of battle or you'll be sent back to your family in a body bag, if we can even retrieve your body. 

"So, how long you been here? As a replacement?" I asked, trying to make conversation. The sun was starting to set and Bull was probably waiting for us at the gates. 

"I was deployed about a month ago. Got lost along the way. Wound up here. I was suppose to be with Dog Company, but I guess things changed." He answered just as we reached the gates. Bull had a cigar hanging out of his mouth like usual. Except today he also wore a confused expression. 

"You have a straggler there." Bull stated, pointing to Private Norman.

"Bull, this is private Norman. Private Norman, this is Sergeant Bull Randleman." I introduced. "Private Norman approached me because he wanted to join our patrol. Apparently some of the men told him we had some folksy wisdom about battle and he thinks he could learn from us on this patrol." I told Bull. 

"Well, I don't see why him tagging along would be a problem." Bull said, hoisting up his rifle. "Let's get a move on, then." he said as the gates were opened and we were let out. The nightly patrol was more of a perimeter patrol around the town a few times during the night, usually about half to a quarter of a mile away from the town and if we saw any suspicious activity, we investigated and reported it. Day time patrols are more looking through the forest for Crout weapons placed on our position or German spotters and patrols. 

"Should we go half or quarter mile tonight?" Bull asked, putting out the cigar as we left town. 

"I'd say half. Give Private Norman over here more experience." I answered, pointing back to Private Norman who only followed close behind us. Bull seemed to agree or didn't feel like arguing because he only nodded as Private Norman came up on my right. 

"Is there a lot to patrols or do we just walk all night?" he asked. 

"There's more than one patrol at night. Protect our area, report suspicious activity that the day time patrols can check out in the day light." Bull answered, eyeing up the treeline that lined the road. 

"Talk about the Germans, compare little nick-nacks we've found since we got here. It's loads of fun, really." I added. 

"But Colonel Sink told me that you never talk about the war while on patrol?" Private Norman told us. 

"What he probably meant was don't talk about anything you've heard about the war or about any plans you've heard. The Germans could be listening right now and if we let one thing slip it could cost the lives of this Company." Bull told him. 

"What happens on the other side of that gate, stays on that side of the gate." I said, pointing to the gate behind us. Private Norman only nodded. 

From then on, it was quiet between the three of us. Private Norman asked the occasional question which got an answer from both of us. As for the patrol, nothing eventful happened. No Crout activity, no American troops hiding from their posts, nothing. Private Norman went back to his buddies and Bull went to report the Patrol and I went back to the house where Joe was. 

"I'm back!" I called into the house as I slid the helmet off my head and hung it on a hook in the wall over my rifle strap. I heard chatting coming from the kitchen. Some of the other guys probably stopped by with nothing to do. I walked into the kitchen to see some sad faces while others were blank. Joe was the first to acknowledge my presence. 

"Hey. How was the patrol?" He asked, smoke exhaling from his lungs. 

"Nothing to report. No activity." I answered. "Why all the sad faces?" I asked, pointing the everyone in the room. 

"Moose Heyliger was shot by one of the replacements manning one of the posts. Thought he was a crout. Winters was with him." Liebgott explained. 

"Shit.....that means we'll probably get another CO soon." I mumbled, the last part was mostly to myself. 

"Yeah, let's hope it's not some drag like Sobel is." Muck added, handing me a cup from the wood stove. 

"Yay! Breakfast!" I said happily before sitting down at the table no one was occupying, earning a laugh or two from the guys. 

"What?" I questioned with a mouth full of food, which only made them laugh a little more. 

"Your voice..." Malarkey said in between laughs. I smiled a bit, seeing them so happy and all. 

 

"You sounded like a happy little kid that got a new bike for his birthday." Joe said, chuckling. 

"Well, I was not your typical child." I stated, eating more of my breakfast. 

"How so?" Luz questioned. 

"Were some child prodigy or something?" Lieb tried to guess. 

"No, I was a demon-child." I told them plainly which caused them to laugh even more. 

"What did you do?" Muck asked, trying to calm down. 

"My older sister and younger brother both lost their first teeth because I hit them with doors. I would fight with my sister out in the yard so much that mom wouldn't let us outside without supervision. And we couldn't fight inside. Lord knows what we would break in there." I told them, almost as if I was entertainment. Although, it did make me happy to see them smiling and laughing for once. Everybody has been so serious lately, it was a nice change. 

Our moment of happiness was interrupted by a knock at the door before someone let them self in. We all turned heads to the door as one the officers that works the mail room walked in. 

"Sergeant Gabriella Edwards?" he asked. I held up my hand without saying anything. "You got mail. It's from the hospital." He said holding out the paper envelope. 

"Thanks." I said with a worried tone as I took the letter from him. He nodded and within seconds he was out the door. I set my cup down on the table as the others looked at me anxiously as if it was a letter saying whether or not the war was over. But I took no time to rip it open. 

"Oh, it's from Bill." I said upon realizing it was hit handwriting. Plus, he was the only one who called me Gabi. 

"Well, read it." Joe said impatiently. 

"To Gabi,

You have got to get me the hell out of here. There's more replacements than Toccoa men in here. And they won't. Stop. Talking. 

Please help me.

Signed,

Bill Gaurnere." I read out loud from the single piece of paper. I flipped it over to make sure I wasn't missing anything and to make sure that was actually the letter. And it was. 

"Is that it?" Babe Heffron asked me. 

"Yeah, that's it." I said, showing the five lines written on one side of the paper, plus his signature. 

"Well, you know what that means." Penkala stated as we all looked at him confused. "We gotta go save him!" he finished with a raised voice, earning a laugh from the group. 

I wrote back later that night when Joe got back from his patrol except he fell asleep before i could ask him if he wanted to say anything. This was suppose to be the last set of patrols Easy Company had to do before another company took over for a bit. I didn't overly know what to write considering nothing exciting has been going on so I wrote what i thought he would want to hear and sealed it in an envelope. I dropped the letter off at the postal office the next morning with hopes of hearing from Bill again before we moved out again, but at the rate of my luck, it probably wouldn't happen. 

 

~

**Bill's POV**

~

 Listening to the replacements in the hospital around me complaining on how much action they're missing is really getting to me. More so than the bullet wound in my leg. You can't tell them to be quiet or they get offended. What a bunch of tough guys these bunch are. My plans to go AWOL were almost sound, all I needed was a little bit more time for my leg to heal and then I was out of here. But my sanity will only stretch so far with these injured replacements that I could hardly write a damn letter to Gabi and Joe without wanting to strangle these guys with the curtain separating us. 

"Sergeant, this came in for you earlier." one of the nurses said, setting an envelope on the little desk beside the cot. 

"A'ight, thanks nurse." I said, showing no interest in it at first. It was probably from regiment. One of those fancy 'thank you for your service' letters they send you. But I guess you could say curiosity got the best of me. The address was from CP, which was confusing, but all the same, intriguing. I opened the envelope with my knife that the nurse let me keep by my bedside, before taking the paper out of it. 

 ~

_**To Bill,** _

_**We got your letter. A little confusing to say the least, but we told Winters and he said there was not much he could do about your situation.** _

_**The patrols have Easy Company half dead and I'm sure everyone is ready for this whole thing to be over. There isn't much going on besides patrols and we are still waiting for new orders to come in, but if I'm being completely honest, I don't want to move on with the advance without you here. Things are getting intense between the CP and I think the Germans are making some big moves and we need all the guys we can get. That and it's getting boring and lonely with it being just Joe and I, but we also don't want you coming back too soon and in pieces. And in all honesty,**  _ _**I miss having you here, Bill. It's not the same without you here yelling at me to not make stupid decisions, but I guess I'll have to suffer until you get better and come back to us.** _

_**Hopefully, we'll see you sooner rather than later.** _

 

_**Signed,** _

_**Gabi.** _

 ~

Oh, that Gabi. I wasn't about to lie to myself, but I missed having her around too. Everyday I wished to see her, but not in the hospital bed beside me. Getting a letter from her while being in the hospital felt like winning a lottery on Christmas. A little bit of her humor had shown through her writing which brightened my day by millions. I'd be damned if she wasn't the first person I get back to when I get out of here.

What a gal.

~

**December 10th, 1944**

**Mourmelon-le-Grand, France**

~

**Gabriella's POV**

~

We transferred to an old airfield somewhere in France. Any buildings were used for CP offices and officer quarters, depending on who you were. I shared a tent with Joe, Luz, Lieb and Perconte with an extra cot folded up somewhere. It was cold and wet everywhere outside, but we were grateful that the inside of the tents was dry. It kept us sane. 

Our time spent here was mostly going over training lectures and preparing, but since we were so close to Paris, everyone wanted their chance to go on a break. I honestly could care less. I just wanted something to do. Movies were being played in tents a bunch for entertainment, but it was mostly at night. And I guess it wasn't all that boring if you found the right group of people at the right time. I managed to win some french money from a few of the guys playing cards. They thought the first time I won was beginners luck, but after I beat them five more times, they started to get suspicious of my playing abilities. 

-

"Hey, Gabs! Fancy another game?" Luz asked me from his cot. 

"Nah, I'm good for today George. Maybe later." I told him as I grabbed my helmet and jacket. 

"Alright, I'll ask around." he said, lighting up another smoke before offering me one, which I accepted. The habit came up on me faster than I had thought, but I noticed the guys almost appreciated me more because of it. Weird concept, but okay. I slung my jacket over my shoulders as George held the lighter up to light my smoke. I left the front of my jacket open as I placed the helmet on my head.

"Where you going?" Joe asked from his cot.

"Walk around a bit. See what I can do." I answered as I opened the flap to the tent a bit. 

"Typical Gabs. Always looking for something to do." Frank muttered, still looking at the magazine he found. 

"Maybe if you gave me the chance to beat you at cards, you wouldn't be so bored." George suggested. 

"Yeah, but then I lose money and I'm not all about that." I told him before stepping out of the tent, the flap closing behind me. It was cloudy and it was starting to drizzle a bit, but I didn't mind as I started to make my way to CP to see what I could help with. I noticed a couple trucks pull into the area, probably loading cargo until the gate came down and a bunch of men jumped down. 

"More replacements...yaaay." I whispered to myself as I was just about to reach the CP office. 

"I heard Bill was complaining about them in the hospital in a letter he wrote." I turned to find the voice, only for it to be Cobb standing next to the building. 

"Yeah, not that exciting if you ask me." I said, watching as the replacements look lost as they tried to find their way through the base. 

"What: the letter or the replacements?" He asked again, stepping out from in between buildings. 

"Replacements. I get why no one likes majority of them now. I always tried to include them somehow, but now....can't stand most of them." I admitted. 

"Who can?" he questioned as a group of officers approached. I was the first to stand out of their way in attention, Cobb followed suite until they walked past and into CP. 

"Not gonna lie, I'm not sure I can stand the new CO either." Cobb stated. 

"Why? Who's the new CO?" I asked, unaware that they picked a likely candidate to fill Moose Heyliger's spot. 

"You haven't heard yet?" I shook my head, waiting to know. "Well, after Heyliger got shot up, they wanted someone good, you know. I guess the army makes mistakes after all because we got stuck with Lieutenant Dyke. He's just as jumpy as Sobel was in training." Cobb explained as he pointed out one of the CO's in the crowd that walked by us. 

"Yikes. Not again." I groaned. The last thing we needed was another Sobel. And if this guy was just as bad as Sobel, or worse, I might just get court martialled for hitting a CO. 

"Yeah, that's what everyone else is saying." He said before Captain Nixon approached us. 

"Sergeant Edwards, Private Cobb." He greeted. 

"Sir." Cobb and I greeted simultaneously.

"Edwards, I might need your help with the new replacements, I'm still waiting on word so stand by if you will." He told me. 

"Yes, sir." 

"Oh, and someone was in the office earlier. Said they were from the White House and were looking for you if you want to stop by and see if they're still there." He added before saluting, and walking away. I sighed before turning to Cobb, giving a light salute, and walking away towards the offices. 

I took my helmet off at the door as a few officers rushed past me. I found one of the Lieutenants and asked about an official from the White House and they led me to the office where the said official and Winters  were talking. 

"Gabriella Edwards. It's so good to see you again." The White House representative said and I remembered them. 

"Henry Woods. It's been a while." I greeted as he pulled me into a hug. Henry Woods was the Vice Presidents executive assistant and the two of us worked quite close back in the days leading up to my departure. 

"Sergeant Edwards, I've been relaying information about your time here to President Roosevelt, which means we've all been watching you and your dedication to this company. Ever since Operation Market Garden failed, you've been a great help not only in combat, but with the less exciting stuff too." Winters told me as Henry motioned for my jacket. I unzipped it and shrugged it off my shoulders before he took it over to a desk by the wall. "We've also noticed your integrity to get stuff done, how you're always looking for something to do or looking to help around the CP even if it may be the last thing you want to do." I watched as Winters opened a drawer in his desk and search around for something while Henry fiddled with my jacket. 

"To be honest, sir. Sometimes I think it's better I find something to do to help be useful. I don't like the idea of sitting around a whole lot." I mentioned. Winters looked up at me as someone entered the room behind me. I turned to see Captain Nixon as he closed the door behind him. 

"And that's what we need in this Company. Someone who takes it upon themselves to help in times like this." Winters added, stepping around the desk and stopping right in front of me. "Which is why Roosevelt, Colonel Sink, Nixon and I all agree you'd do more for this company as a Lieutenant, rather than a Staff Sergeant." He told me, removing the Sergeant pins from the collar of my button up shirt and replacing them with new Lieutenant pins. When he was done, Winters stepped back.

"Congratulations, Lieutenant Edwards." he said, holding out his hand.

"Thank you, sir." I shook his hand as I noticed Nixon pouring some of the Vat 69 he kept hidden in Winters' footlocker into glasses. When our hands parted, Henry came back with my jacket, the Lieutenant stripes freshly sewed on: one of Henry's acquired skills since he grew up in a convent was speed sewing. Who knew that was even a thing. 

"Everyone back home is very proud of you, Gabriella. You've done exactly what we thought you would do and more." he told me as he held out my jacket. I slipped my arms into the sleeves and huffed it over my shoulders before zipping it back up. I didn't want to let my pride take over, but I thought the Lieutenant stripes looked pretty good on my arm. 

"I'm sure you've made everyone proud." Nixon told me, handing me one of the glasses and another to Henry. Winters didn't drink so he had his cup of coffee. "Cheers, to our new Lieutenant!" Nixon cheered, holding the bottle in the air. We clinked glasses and I down the shot of Vat 69 in a second, which seemed to take Nixon by surprise for a second. 

"Now all that's left to do is win the war, eh fellas?" Henry stated. 

"You got that right, my friend." I said, placing the empty glass next to Henry's on the desk. 

"Henry will fill you in on some things. I've got a few more pages to sign and I'm sure Nix can find some trouble to get into." Winters said, walking back around his desk and shuffling through some papers on his desk in search of something until he found an envelope signed with my name on the front. "These are also from Roosevelt. You have the rest of the night off, Lieutenant." Winters told me, handing me the envelope. 

"Thank you, sir." I said, nodding to him before turning to Nixon. "And thank you, too." I said before Henry opened the door and we left together. Once we were out of possible ear-shot of the office was when he spoke up. 

"So...a Lieutenant now. Bet you didn't think that would happen when you stormed into the Oval office to accept this job, eh." He said, nudging my shoulder. 

"Never in a million years did I think this would happen." I admitted, adjusting my helmet under my wing until we got to the door of the building. I placed the helmet on my head while Henry shrugged his shoulders at the light rain  that started to fall. 

"Now, Winters told me to tell you that since all the squads and platoons have their designated leaders that you'd be more of a back up Lieutenant, but all the same, just as important. Something goes wrong, you'd be there to take a spot if necessary." He said before placing a hand on my shoulder. "You've changed the minds of everyone back home in Washington. Even the Vice President. And I'm sure your family is just as proud, maybe even more." he told me. I felt my grip on the envelope tighten as I remembered my sisters, who didn't live long enough to see this or even hear about it. 

"You think the girls would be proud?" I asked, my eyes starting to sting as they welled up a bit. 

"Of course they are." He said before pulling me into a hug. I pulled my hand into my sleeve so the envelope didn't get wet as I rested my head on his shoulder. "Everyone is proud. You've made a bigger difference in the eyes of many. And you've become an inspiration to so many more." he told me before parting. 

"I guess we'll see what happens  now, eh?" I said, wiping my eyes with my sleeve. It wasn't the promotion that got me teared up, it was more my sisters never getting to see the influence they had to grow up with. 

"Yeah. We'll see what happens. You take care of yourself, Gabriella. We'll be waiting for you in the White house when you return." He said. I only nodded, not knowing what more to say. Henry gave one last smile before walking around me and toward the trucks that awaited him. I watched as he climbed aboard with a few other soldiers. I sent a wave his way and he returned before the trucks sped off out of the base and down the road. This was probably the last time I'd see anyone from back home, and even then it was short lived. 

I let out a sigh as I turned to walk back to the tent. All of a sudden I was excited to show off my new promotion, but something deep down told me I was terrified to show it off as well. I knew already some of the men wouldn't agree with this like Winters and Nixon did, and it might cause me some trouble. But a third part in me knew I could trust them. I'd known them this long and haven't had many problems since. But now with such a higher ranking than I did before, it wasn't the same as me being a Sergeant. 

While in this trance of thought, I hadn't realized that the sky had cleared and the rain had stopped for a bit. I looked up and saw the sun for the first time in almost two weeks. I didn't care that the sun was blinding. All I cared about was that it was out and the day got happier and brighter. I moved my gaze from the sky to my surroundings. A couple other soldiers around me noticed the sun come out and they had the same looks of joy on their faces. I noticed them to be the kind of people that appreciate the little things in life, sort of like me. As I walked back towards the tent, I unzipped my jacket and placed the envelope inside the pocket and leaving the zipper undone a bit, showing off the new Lieutenant pins. I also couldn't help but notice a Jeep park right by the tent I was bunked at and a familiar face hop out. 

"Bill!" I called out as I started running towards the familiar face. 

"Gabi!" he cheered as I jumped at him, wrapping my arms around his neck and unintentionally wrapping my legs around his waist.

"Holy shit, you're back." I mumbled into his shoulder. 

"Going AWOL has it's perks." he replied as I let my legs fall back down until I hit pavement, but we stayed embraced in a hug. "Man, I missed ya. You have no idea how boring the hospital is." He said before we parted. 

"Well, I know a little bit." I said with a smile as I grabbed his bag off the back of the Jeep. 

"I got that, you know." He told me.

"I know you do." I said with a sly grin. I hoisted his bag onto my shoulder as we walked closer to the tent. 

"You got a real cocky attitude today. Somethin' happen?" he questioned and I only looked at him with the same sly grin, only I moved my eyes from looking at him to my arm carrying his bag and bag to him a bunch of times, hoping he would get the memo to look at my arm. Confused, his gaze followed my motions until he spotted the stripes on my arm. 

"You've gotta be shitting me. You got promoted?!" He exclaimed. 

"Hush, no one else knows. I just got promoted." I told him. He had a look of disbelief on his face by the time we reached the flaps of the tent. 

"Wow. I missed so much." he said. 

"Yeah, you did." I pulled the flap of the tent back and walked in to find Joe, Luz, Buck and Lieb playing cards. None of them noticed us at first which gave me time to make a good entrance. 

"Hey, guys. Look what I found." I said pointing to Bill as he followed me into the tent. All heads turned and blank faces of concentration changed to delight. 

 "Hey! Welcome back!" Joe greeted, throwing his hand of cards onto the table. "I'm out." 

"Same." Lieb groaned, placing his cards face up in front of him before laying back on his cot and using his arms to prop himself up. 

"Wow, you guys are going to leave me to be George all on my own, huh?" Buck joked as I stepped over Lieb's cot to grab the folded one for Bill. 

"Damn, I missed a lot. Last time I was with you lot, you two weren't such sore losers." Bill said jokingly, poking fun at Joe and Lieb, which caused us all to laugh a bit. I managed to get the cot  out from the mess at the back of the tent and hand it to Bill to put where every he liked. 

"Woah, woah, woah, hold up!" Lieb shouted, holding his hands up like he was halting traffic before pointing to me. "What's on your arm?" he asked. I moved my arm forward to show off the new stripes on my sleeve. 

"Oh, these. It's nothing." I said sarcastically, moving my arm back to my side with a cheeky grin. 

"Well it's about fucking time." Joe grumbled, almost angrily, causing us to laugh a bit. 

"Welcome to the Lieutenants club." Buck said, shaking my hand. 

"You see, Bill. This is why we can't let her out of our sight because one minute she leaves and the next she's getting promoted and doesn't even tell us right away. We gotta get Eagle Eyes over here to spot it out." George said jokingly, motioning from me to Lieb and back to my arm before holding his cards in both hands like he did before. 

"So what platoon are you in charge of so I can switch?" Joe asked with a cheeky grin. 

"None, at the moment." I answered, sitting down on my cot and setting my helmet by my bag that doubled as a pillow. 

"What?!" All of them shouted, which startled me. I don't know why because I was expecting that kind of response. 

"Regiment gave us a new CO before Winters could promote me. But if this new CO turns out to be shit, then I guess I'll take his place." I explained, ending with a bit of an evil grin. 

"Ugh, please tell me he's not jumpy." George said. 

"Word on the street is he's just like Sobel, if not worse." I broke the news, earning a handful  of groans and curses. 

"Shoulda stayed in the hospital." Bill groaned before sitting down on his cot. Buck and George turned to the table and finished their game, the winner being George for once. 

"Well, speaking of platoons, I'm gonna go check on mine. Should I spread the word?" Buck said, standing up with his rifle and helmet. 

"They'll figure it out eventually." I told him. 

"Alright then, see you lot at dinner." He said before leaving the tent. 

"Right, when is dinner. I'm starving." Bill stated. 

"What, they don't feed you in the hospital?" I questioned, sitting back on my cot, propped up my my arm. 

"Must have missed breakfast when he went AWOL." George said, cleaning up the cards and his winnings. "Anyone care for a game?" He asked. I chuckled and shook my head. 

"I think you've done enough gambling for today, bud." Lieb told him, taking the stack of cards from his hands. "Come on, let's let the inseparable trio catch up." Lieb said, standing up and leaving the tent, followed by George who didn't argue. I suddenly remembered the envelope in my jacket so I sat up to retrieve it before opening the envelope. Inside, were three 72 hour passes to Paris and a letter from Vice President Wallace. 

"What you got there, Gabs?" Joe said, passing his lighter to Bill who also awaited an answer. 

"Gimme a minute to read and I'll tell you." I mumbled as I unfolded the letter. 

_**'To the newly appointed Lieutenant Edwards,** _

 

_**It is with great pride and respect that I write this letter to you on the Presidents behalf. Everyone here in the White House is proud of what you've been doing for the war and the rest of our brave young men fighting over in Europe with you. Which is why we pushed to giving you yet another promotion as thanks to your dedication and hard work. I've gained word about your close friends Bill Guarnere and Joe Toye. Enclosed in this envelope are three 72 hour passes to Paris for you and your two friends as well as accommodations to a hotel for the duration of your stay in the city.** _

_**The President and I are overjoyed at the success you've made while you've been gone and you and your friends have deserved this break. And with that, do us all a favor and enjoy yourselves. We await for your response. Everyone loves hearing from you.** _

 

_**Yours,** _

 

_**VP Wallace.'** _

 

 ****I flipped through the pieces of paper in my other hand and saw three passes and an unnoticed hotel address. I smiled and nodded before folding the letter once more and putting the letters and the hotel address card back in the envelope. I noticed the passes had all our names on them, something I didn't see before. I looked up at the guys in front of me with a smile.

"Paris vacation, anyone?" I asked, holding up the passes in a fan formation.

"You serious?" Joe question, picking one of the passes out of my hands. Coincidentally, it was the one with his name on it. 

"You're kidding!" Bill exclaimed taking one of the last two passes. 

"From the President himself. Apparently, Winters has been relaying my hard work and dedication in the CP office back to Sink who relayed it to good ol' Roosevelt and as an extra reward to my promotion, gave me and my two best friends 72 hour passes to Paris. " I explained, relayed most of the words from the letter. 

"So, we get to leave this shit hole for a bit?" Joe asked with a smile from ear to ear. 

"Pack your bags boys 'cause we're going to the City of Light! And I'm spending all of my card winnings as soon as possible." I said, grabbing my bag off my cot. It was almost mandatory that when an officer- non-commissioned or commanding- leave any sort of base on a pass leave, that he- or she in my case- must wear their formal uniform. For good measure, I changed at the back of the tent before we left to the front gates of the base where Winters was just leaving. Apparently, Nixon saw he was working too hard and forced him to take a vacation. So with our personal belongings in hand, we hitched a ride to Paris with Winters. I showed the address of the hotel to the driver and it seemed to be the same hotel Winters was staying at so he only had to make one trip around the city. 

"Man, this place is great." Joe stated in awe as we drove into the center of the city. It was just after 5 which meant we had another couple hours before the sun started to set. And when the hotel came into view, all of us were speechless. Winters seemed amused by our awe like he had been here before. The Jeep stopped in front of the hotel and we were greeted by a French citizen. We bid Winters goodbye as we took our time looking around before we were showed up to our room. All the hotel worker needed was to see our passes and the hotel address card and we were into our room in no time. 

The creaking of the old lift didn't even bother me I was so in awe. We were on the top floor of the hotel and our room had a great view of the Eiffel tower through the big glass window of the suite. 

"Man, working for the President must have some serious perks." Bill stated, setting his bag down on the small table surrounded by four chairs. 

"Three separate rooms, three separate bathrooms, a kitchen and seating area. You probably can't find something this nice anywhere in America." Joe exclaimed, walking into one of the bedrooms. A soft rebounding thud came from the room, followed by a pleased groan. "This bed is amazing!" 

I didn't say anything as the guys got sorted in their rooms. I just stared out the window, down at the streets below me. This is definitely a place I would want to bring my Eliza to one day. 

"Hey, Gabi. I put your bag in the other room for ya." Bill said, walking out of one of the rooms. I watched as his reflection in the window stopped at the table again, but he was still looking out the window. 

"Thanks Bill." I murmured as Joe walked out of his room. 

"I don't know about you two, but I could go for some French cuisine. I heard something about soldiers getting discounts and shit for helping liberate France." He explained, pointing to the door. I turned away from the window and smiled.

"Well...you still hungry, Bill?" I said, mocking the conversation we had in the tent. 

"At this point, if we weren't in Paris, I'd be scrappin' for something to eat." He said before the three of us left the room like in the movies, where the characters say some stuff and then all walk away together like it was and wasn't planned all along. 

We walked the street that seemed to go straight towards the tower, looking for a place to eat. We passed little shops and different businesses that seemed to be booming since the liberation as we continued walking, arms linked together. At one point, we found a little cafe wedged between a tailor shop and a book shop. It was less busy then the rest of the restaurants we passed that were filled to the brim with British, American and French soldiers, all dressed in formal uniforms. We were sat down at a table for four, but the extra chair was taken away. Our meal consisted of Bill eating and laughing while Joe and I told him about all that happened while he was in the hospital. 

"And then Joe walks past the house we're staying at with five German prisoners with the biggest shit-eating grin on his face like we had a competition going on for who can bring in the most Krauts." I said before taking another bite of my food. Joe's face had gone red from laughing as I told the story of a patrol he went on while Bill was still with us, but at a different place. "And then he comes back all like _"did you see my prisoners!"_ almost like he owned them or something." I said before finished the last bit of food on my plate. 

"You're just jealous that you didn't get to bring in any Krauts for interrogation." Joe countered in a matter-of-fact tone. 

"It's probably because their scared of her. I mean, if I was a Kraut and I spotted her on a patrol, I'd be bustin' ass to get away from that area." Bill added as we laughed some more. Joe began telling a story about something that did happen while Bill was in the hospital, but I zoned out a bit as I sat back in my chair. Never in a million years did I ever think I'd be sitting in Paris during the war with two of my best  friends, drinking French champagne and honestly having the best time that I've had in a while. I also never thought I'd meet such great friends like Bill and Joe. And sitting here at the table, thinking about the three of us finally getting away from the base made me forget there was even a war going on. Like we were just three friends having dinner together like normal friends do. And I'm sure they felt the same way about it. We actually got time to sit and be friends instead of foxhole buddies. 

"Hey, Gabi. You alright?" Bill asked, snapping me out of my trance. 

"Yeah...I'm doing fantastic." I answered with a smile. 

"Well you zoned out on us for a second. What's on your mind?" Joe questioned, sitting back in his chair much like I was. 

"I don't know...it's just...." I paused, trying to find the words. "It seemed like yesterday you guys were showing me around camp on my first day. Now, we're sitting in the middle of Paris and I don't know about you two, but this is the most fun I've had with friends in a long time. And we just got here." I finished with a smile. 

"Man, you're right. So much has happened and it made time fly by, hasn't it." Bill said, sitting back in his chair as well. Joe and I nodded in agreement before Joe sat up straight and picked up his glass. 

"For what it's worth, I'm proud of us for making it this far. From Basic to Paris." he said, holding up his glass above the center of the table. I sat forth and raised my glass as well. 

"And to the end of the war." I added as we clinked glasses in a toast. I finished my glass of champagne and set it back down beside my empty plate. We talked about some other stuff before we paid for our meal and continued walking down the street in our usual formation: me in the middle with Bill and Joe on either arm, linked together. We walked towards the tower where crowds of people stood by and talked or even gazed at the view in silence, enjoying the company of the others around them. 

By the time we reached the tower, the sun had begun to set and it was just now reaching the horizon. Cough up a few francs and we took the lift up the tower to the viewing area where a few American soldiers stood by as well. 

"Man, would you look at that view." Bill said, lighting up a smoke before offering Joe and I one, to which we both accepted. 

"You can't find this in America." Joe added, leaning against the rail like I was. Bill was the only one standing straight up, his hand on my shoulder and the other on the rail. 

"Although, there are some nice sights in America too. The night life in Washington and upstate New York is amazing, if you ask me." I told them. 

"I've never been to Washington." Joe admitted. 

"Really?" I questioned. 

"Yeah. Never really did much traveling before I joined the Army." He told us. 

"Well maybe when we get home I'll take you there." I said, turning my head to look from Joe to the sunset. "Yeah, I'll take you both there. There's lots to do in Washington." I said before someone tapped on Bill's shoulder, causing all of our heads to turn. 

"You guys paratroopers?" The young man asked. I stood up straight and rested my left arm on Bill's shoulder. 

"Yes, sir. 506, 101st Airborne." Bill answered. 

"Cool, I'm a photographer from a different regiment. Mind if I get a couple picture of you guys for the paper?" He introduced and then asked. 

"Sure, you want us posing or nah?" Bill joked. 

"What ever you want to do really." The young man said, stepping back from us, stopping at the railing across the platform. The first picture or two was just us standing side by side. I had my arms around both of their shoulders, pulling them closer to me. The last couple photos, Bill had surprised me a bit and lifted me off the ground which ended with Joe holding up my legs and Bill holding up my top half with my arm around his neck. After the pictures were taken, the young man wrote down our names so he could send us copies of the pictures when he got them developed, which was nice. 

After the little photo-op, the sun had set below the horizon with just a tiny bit of light still showing. We took the lift back down to ground level before beginning our walk back to the hotel. Although we hadn't really done much today, I was exhausted but I ruled it out to be from all the excitement today has brought me. 

Upon arrival to the hotel, the guys decided to go down to the bar for drinks. I declined the offer and gave them the room key once I was let in. My bedroom had its own bathroom which was great. I picked out my sleeping attire and grabbed some loose paper from a desk and a clipboard I found. I placed my clothes on a chair in the bathroom and brought over a stool towards the tub and began filling it with warm water. I placed the paper in the clipboard and set it on the stool with a pencil. I stripped from my formal attire and placed my clothes folded neatly on the bathroom counter. I sat on the ledge of the tub, waiting for it to fill, before twisting the taps off. I tested the water with my foot and it was perfect. I pulled my hair into a higher bun before stepping into the tub and eventually sitting back and enjoying the warm, clean water. After spending months without a shower, it was safe to say it felt nice to get clean. I grabbed the clipboard and pencil from the stool and began writing to my family first. 

 

_**"To my dearest family,** _

_**I'm not sure if you heard or not, but the President, Vice President, Colonel Sink and Captain Winters have decided to promote me to Lieutenant after noticing my increased work ethic and my constant yearn to help when we are stationed somewhere. I met an old friend from the White House when I got promoted. It felt great to see a familiar face. And it felt great to know I'm making people proud.** _

_**I know my work has paid off as I write you this from The City of Light. Myself and my two friends, Bill Guarnere and Joe Toye, were given 72 hour passes to Paris as an escape from the base. I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful city. Washington and New York are both lovely, but Paris is something else. All the civilians are extremely grateful for the American and British Armies for helping liberate France and as it turns out, fighting all those Germans really does pay off.** _ _**I just wish I could share this excitement with you all. Maybe one day we can all go to Paris as a family, upon my return.** _

_**I wish to assure you that even as we move into Nazi Germany soon, that I am with friends whom I trust with my life, but will also fight to protect. I hope, as predicted, we can finish this war and be home some time in the New Year. Maybe if I'm lucky, there will still be some of Great-Grandmas Apple pie when I return to you.** _

_**Signed** _

_**Yours truly,** _

 

_**Lieutenant Gabriella Edwards"** _

 

I removed that letter from the clipboard and set it on the stool before beginning a second letter. 

 

_**"To President Roosevelt,** _

 

_**I do wish to thank you for your undying support as I continue to fight in the war against the Nazi enemy. This newest promotion has really sparked a motivation in me to do more with my new rank. I assure you I will do everything I can to make you and my family proud and that you will not regret your decision to agree to my promotion to Lieutenant nor will you regret sending me to fight for our country.** _

_**I would also like to add that my friends, Joe Toye and Bill Guarnere, are quite enjoying our stay in Paris. If you could thank Vice President Wallace for me, I would be extremely grateful.** _

_**I wish you well as I conclude this letter to be one of the final letters I may write to anyone on the Western side of the Atlantic, fore I feel we may be heading into isolated battle. I haven't heard any word, but I have a gut feeling this will be the last you hear of me.** _

 

_**All the best,** _

 

_**Lieutenant Gabriella Edwards."** _

 

I clipped both letter into the clipboard before tossing the clipboard across the bathroom to where my pile of clothes sit on a chair. I sat in silence for a bit longer, enjoying the lingering warmth of the bathwater. I sat up a bit and let my hair down from the bun as it cascaded down my neck and into the water. I slid back even more so that my face was just above water. I stayed like that for a moment before drawing in a breath and submerging my entire head underwater. The warmth of the water was different than the warmth one might feel while being wrapped in a blanket. I slowly moved my hands above my head and ran them through my hair, pushing through a couple knots before it smoothed out underwater. I stayed under for a few seconds more, letting the air in my lungs escape as bubbles floated to the surface, before sitting up and breathing in deeply. I was going to miss the feeling of warm water once we went back to the front line, but for now it was bliss. 

After a few more minutes, I pulled the plug on the tub and let the water drain a bit before standing up and wrapping a towel around myself and stepping onto the cold tile floor of the bathroom. I dried off my body before wrapping my hair in the towel and changing into a pair of shorts I kept on me at all times and an army t-shirt. I unwrapped my hair and stood in front of the mirror, watching myself as I rubbed the ends of my hair in between the towel before scrubbing the top of my head with the towel. I hung my towel on a hook before taking the clipboard and my folded clothes back into my room and set them both on the small table at the foot of my bed before crawling under the sheets and blanket. The guys probably weren't going to be back for a while so I dozed off for the night, reminiscing about the night I had just had. 

 

**~End of Chapter 9~**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made some changes to Gabriella's age and the first chapter concerning the president after a reader on Wattpad told me I made some mistakes so I went back and fixed them a bit


	10. So Long, City of Lights

**Bill's POV**

**~**

Joe and I hadn't spent too long at the hotel bar. We met a few guys from a couple  of the other companies, but most of the men in Paris seemed to be high ranking officers like Winters or Nixon. Not a whole lot of Corporals or Privates, but they were still here. We had a few good conversations with a few of them, heard some good gossip, but close to 11 we called it quits and went back up to the room. 

"You think, Gabs is asleep yet?" Joe asked, unlocking the door. 

"Better be quiet just in case." I said, closing the door behind us. Joe disappeared into his room in a matter of seconds, leaving the room key on the table. I left my jacket hanging on the top of one of the chairs before walking over to Gabi's door. Quietly, I turned the doorknob and peeked inside the room to make sure she was ok before closing the door and retreating to my room for the night. 

-

When I woke up in the morning, I realized my dumb-ass left the curtains open on the window so when I rolled over I was hit with blinding sun light. I groaned before rolling off the bed to shut the blinds with the intention to go back to bed, but decided against it considering Joe and Gabi were probably awake and waiting for me to get my lazy ass out of bed. 

I got dressed into my uniform from yesterday, leaving out the jacket, and opened my door to see Gabi and Joe awake as expected. The only odd thing out was Joe was sitting at the table in his skivvies and a shirt reading a French newspaper and Gabi was still in what I'm guessing was still her sleeping attire cooking something over the stove. 

"Was I the only one who thought to get dressed this morning or what?" I asked, stepping into the kitchen area. 

"Gabi didn't get dressed. Why should I have to." Joe whined from behind the newspaper. 

"Just be grateful I even got out of bed to make you shits breakfast." she said, flipping stuff over in the pan in front of her before turning to face me. "Want coffee?" she asked, pointing to the kettle next to her. 

"Sure, please." I answered, walking over to the stove. She fiddled with the kettle for a second before grabbing another mug from the cabinet above her head. "So, what's for breakfast?" I asked peering over her shoulder at the food she was preparing. 

"Food." She answered, pouring a cup of coffee and handing it to me. "Milk and sugar is on the table." I happily accepted the mug from her and sat down at the table with Joe who focused his attention between his cup of coffee and the paper. 

"Joe do you even read French?" I asked, unbuttoning the top part of my shirt. 

"There's a part in English for us foreigners." he answered as Gabi walked over with two plates and set one in front of each other us. 

"Looks great, Gabs." Joe said, putting his paper on the chair beside him as Gabi took a seat in the chair next to me with her own plate. 

"Bon appetite, shit heads." She said jokingly as we dug into our food. 

"Pancakes, eggs and potatoes. Gabi you spoil us." I said before shoveling some eggs into my mouth. 

"I do it because I love you guys." She said with a smile on her face and a mouth full of food. Joe was too busy eating to say anything. 

"Enjoy it, why don't you, Joe. You know regiment isn't going to feed us like this again." I told him. Gabi only laughed a bit and Joe nodded his head, but still focused on his food. 

"There's more in the oven if anyone wants seconds." Gabi spoke up, half way done the food on her plate. 

"Jesus, you do spoil us." Joe stated, finishing the food on his plate before standing up and going for more. 

"What a guy." I mumbled before going back to eating. Joe came back seconds later with more food, but ate slower than before. Once I finished my  plate I went up for more, obviously, before pouring myself another cup of coffee. 

"Gabi, you want anything while I'm up?" I asked her, setting my stuff in my spot. 

"Just another pancake, please." She answered, looking at the paper Joe was looking at earlier. I did as she requested before giving her plate back. 

"Something interesting in the paper?" I asked, beginning to eat my second serving. 

"Yeah....Easy Companies been written about." She mumbled, half eating her food and half engaged in reading. 

"I think I must have missed that part." Joe stated, shoving the last bite of his food into his mouth. "What's it say?" 

"Easy Company, of the 506, 101st Airborne division has shown their widespread dedication to the fight against the enemy and liberating France. Lead by Captain Richard Winters, Easy Company has fought fearlessly against the enemy to save the innocent people caught in the crossfire of it all and even save a company of Britain's own, The Red Devils. Appreciation for Easy Company and their devotion have been recognized as many of their members enjoy weekends in Paris as thanks for their determination and hard work." Gabi read out loud. "The rest is about Operation: Pegasus." She finished, handing the paper to me as I read over it. 

"They wrote about us in the paper. Ain't that exciting. " Joe smiled, finishing his cup of coffee. 

"Why would the French write about us saving the British? That doesn't make any sense." Gabi stated, finishing her food before Joe stood up to take out plates to the sink. He sat back down afterwards as I finished reading the paper. 

"Probably a publicity stunt. 'We saved France now write about us in the paper' kind of thing, you know." Joe answered. 

"Maybe they did it to make us troops feel better about what actually happened." I suggested, downing the rest of my coffee. 

"Who knows." Gabi said, sitting back in her chair, one arm over the back rest. "So...what are we going to do today?" she asked, changing the subject. 

"We could catch a movie. There's theater showing films in English for us foreigners some where around here. Heard a couple of the guys talking about it." Joe suggested. Both of them looked at me after. 

"What do you think? Catch a movie, walk around and explore a bit more." Gabi questioned. 

"Yeah, sounds like fun." I said, standing up from my chair. "But neither of you are going out in the city in your skivvies so go get dressed. I can clean up a bit." I told them. 

"Sweet, thanks, Bill." Gabi said, standing up from her chair and retreating to her room. Soon after, Joe did the same.   
  
-  
  
**Gabriella's POV**

**~**

I got changed from my sleeping attire and into my formal uniform and walked over to the mirror to fix my hair when I got an idea. Fussing with the buns and shit just wasn't going to cut it anymore. I found a pair of scissors in the bathroom and tied my hair into two pigtails and cut at even spots. I tied the two ponytails together and tossing them into the trash bin beside the counter before evening up the ends of my hair before rinsing it down the sink. Now, my hair fell down to just above my shoulders. It had gotten longer since I started training and I had found no time to cut it before hand. At this point in the war, I'm sure no one cared how my hair looked. But boy, was it sure to surprise the other two! 

I grabbed my jacket and brushed any loose hair off my shirt before swinging the jacket over my head and doing it up in the front like usual. I made sure I had money in my pocket before leaving my room to meet the guys in the living room. Bill was the first to notice my new look and it was an understatement at first, but after a moment or so, he smiled. 

"You cut your hair." he stated, bring Joe's attention back. "Looks nice." he added. 

"Thanks. It's easier to handle now. It's to short to tie up so I don't have to bother with it." I stated. "Not like you two would know anything about that shit." I sassed, earning a chuckle from them both. 

"Ready to go?" Joe asked, hopping off the chair he was sitting on. I grabbed the room key and locked the door before shoving it in a different pocket, one that I wouldn't need to be constantly reaching into. We took the lift back down to ground level where we waved good morning to Winters as we left the building. He seemed less stressed and more relaxed since getting away from the base for a while. 

The three of us resumed our walking stance from yesterday with Bill on my right arm and Joe on my left. Not going to lie, I looked like one cool pimp right about now. 

"So, uh...either of you know where the hell we're going?" Bill asked, lighting a smoke. 

"Not a clue!" I exclaimed as I skipped forward a stride before walking normally. 

"Well, usually I would say read signs, but they're all in French." Joe stated, pointing to a cross sign with nothing but, you guessed it, French words. 

"I think theater is spelled T-H-E-A-T-R-E with a couple fancy symbols over a couple vowels, I'm not sure." I added, looking at signs and buildings to maybe spot a theater or maybe an opera house. An opera house would probably mean we're close to a movie theater. 

"And you know this...how?" Joe questioned, like he was skeptical of my knowledge. 

"Well, Joe....working with the President must have some sort of foreign affairs besides the war." Bill answered for me. Rather sarcastically too. 

"You're right there, but no it was not from working with the President." I told him. "It was from my older sister. She's married to a Frenchmen." I finished. Evelynn had gotten married shortly after I did. Except she was older and had known her now-husband for longer than a year and he wasn't her high school sweetheart. And...Evelynn's husband wasn't dead like mine. 

"Well, I'm mean I was close right?" Bill asked with a cheeky grin. 

"Just a little bit off." I told him before Joe tugged on my arm. 

"Is that what you're talking about?" He said, pointing to a street sign that clearly read Theater but in French. 

"I think it might be. Let's go!" I exclaimed, starting out in a run and dragging them behind me a bit, but only by surprise. We crossed the street in the direction the sign was pointing and believe it or not, but there it was. The movie theater we had been looking for. The sign outside read " **American & English Troops- half price admission**'. 

"Well, this is the place." Bill stated, looking up at the sign. "Man, we get in cheap." He added as the three of us walked inside. The man in the ticket booth took one look at our uniforms and nodded as I handed him some cash from my pocket. In return, he gave us three little ticket stubs and we walked inside. The theater was very plush and very fancy. Nothing but the best for Paris. The red carpet floors to the theater had noticeable scruff marks where people were walking, but it wasn't dirty. A lot of the doorway trimming was done in gold or painting gold which looked very nice. While I admired the theater, the other two had been busy trying to find us a good seat, to which I got dragged to by my arm in a hurry. 

"What movie did the sign say was playing?" Joe asked me in a whisper as the screen in front of us lit up as the cameras started rolling. 

"No clue, bud." I whispered back as pictures began to form on the screen. 

-

The movie was a good hour and a half comedy show, probably to lift the spirits of the soldiers who came to visit. But once the movie was over, Bill and Joe seemed to get restless so instead of staying for another one, we left and continued strolling down the street, walking further away from our hotel, but I made mental notes of where we were by remembering buildings and specific signs that I could semi-understand. Four hours, we chatted about anything besides the war going on or anything related to the base. We needed time away from the things that gave us the most hell. Everyone did. Some even begged for it. 

After our big breakfast, no one was really hungry for lunch so we waited it out until dinner and found a nicer, bigger restaurant than the last one we ate at. This time, they served whiskey. It was just Vat 69, but after drinking nothing but champagne for a little alcohol buzz, anything else would do. 

"Man, I don't know what I'm going to do when we have to go back to eating army food." Joe complained as he finished the food on his plate. 

"Who knows. Maybe this is motivation for us to work harder to finish the war and get back home to real food." I added as I finished mine. Bill seemed to be the only one enjoying his food since he was the last one done. 

"Ah, but then the war is over and we may never get the chance to come back here." Bill stated, waving a hand up, motioning to the scenery around us. We've been lucky at getting patio tables since we got here. 

"Who knows. Maybe the 10 grand we get paid when we get back will be enough to visit here again." Joe inquired. 

"That's one way of thinking about it." I said, sipping on my glass of whisky. "I don't know about you boys, but once I get home, I might stay away from travelling for a bit. All this jumping out of planes and driving around in those God-awful rust buckets they have the nerve to call trucks. It's making me wish I could just ride a bicycle into war." I admitted, earning a few chuckles. 

"Wouldn't that be a picture. A whole company of paratroopers riding over the Rhine on bicycles. Guns ready to shoot, giving their best war cries." Bill laughed before finishing the food on his plate. 

"I'm pretty sure the Krauts would be too confused the shoot and we'd have the upper hand." I laughed, leaning back in my chair as the waitress came by and took our plates. 

"Merci." I thanked her quietly before she left. I turned my attention to the table once more before looking up at the sky. Clears skies hadn't been much of a thing. Usually on base, a clear sky meant the tiniest bit of blue peaking out from under the blanket of grey clouds. But the clear skies here meant a few tiny clouds here and there. 

"Man, this place is great." Bill said for the 100th time since we got here. 

"Yeah...." my words wandered off as we all fixated our gaze on the sky and the sun beginning to set. 

"I hope we get to see something like this when we go back to work." Joe mumbled, leaning over the back rest of his chair. 

"Me too. Might bring everyone a bit of hope if shit goes south." I said quietly. Our plan to not talk about the war had failed, but at least we didn't talk about what _had_ happened before now. 

"Even if we don't see something like this, we can always remember this one if we need to, right?" Bill said in a query. 

"Yes...yes we can." I told him, smiling up at the sky. 

-

Our walk home was pleasantly quiet. Instead of linking arms with both of them, somehow Bill and I ended up holding hands while Joe and I had our arms wrapped around each others waist. And by the time we reached the hotel for our last night stay, the sun had gone down and we were able to look at the night life one last time. When all the lights were on, our walking pace slowed a bit until we stopped in front of our hotel. We could see down the hill towards the Eiffel Tower so instead of going inside just yet, we sat on a ledge while people rushed around behind us. Joe and I still had our arms around each other and Bill moved closer so we were hip-to-hip and both has hands had encased mine. I wasn't complaining though, it was rather nice to have friends like them. Except with every day gone by, they seemed more like family than just friends. I couldn't help but think about my family back home, and how they're both missing out on seeing stuff like Paris and safe from harm. Or at least, they are now. 

"Man, my brother would love to see this." Bill spoke up after a while. It surprised me since it was the first time he even mentioned his brother since he learned he had died in Monte Casino. 

"My sister too. Maybe one day I'll get to bring her and her little baby here.'' Joe added, resting his head on my shoulder. I pulled him closer to me with my arm as Bill also rested his head on my shoulder. 

"I'm just glad I got to see all this with you guys." I told them. "And no matter what happens to any of us. I'll always be thinking of  our time here together." I said before planting a kiss on the tops of their heads. There was no way I could let this family go, and I was not prepared to lose them.

 

**~End of Chapter 10~**


	11. Bastogne

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im chsnging some things in this chapter and the next because my feelings have changed for the end of this story.

**Gabriella's POV**  
  
~  
  
Packing up and leaving Paris was probably the hardest thing anyone has had to do since this war started. We finally got a break, and it seemed over too soon. The three of us hitched a ride back to Mourmelon with Winters, just like we did leaving the base. The ride back wasn't as bad. Bill was leaning against the frame of the truck, his bag as both a pillow and a barrier, with me leaning on his side and Joe leaning on mine. No one got a lot of sleep that night since we stayed out so late on that ledge overlooking the Eiffel tower. We didn't even say anything, we just sat there, enjoying each others company and embrace. That night, I realized that not only had their feelings about me changed drastically since we first  met in Camp Toccoa, but mine as well. I was ready to die for these two if it meant they left this war in one piece. Little did I know, I would actually follow through with my promise. 

-

A couple weeks after we got back from base, the weather set in. Snow fall and bone-chilling wind made us scramble to find as many coats, socks and gloves as we could, but our new Lieutenant did a shitty job of making sure his men were prepared. Not only did we not have enough winter gear to keep us from hypothermia, we also didn't have enough food rations or ammo to last us. And they were sending us out to a forest where it would be near impossible to get to us if they come into contact with any extra ammo or food. Hell, even the ride to our imminent deaths was bad. Bump after bump in the road. One would think the snow had been packed down enough to fill them, but boy would they be wrong. 

I sat on the floor of the truck, Bill sitting behind me on the bench with his legs on either side of me as my only defense from the cold. I had my hands cupped in front of my face trying to warm my fingers with my breath, but in this weather, even our breath was cold. My finger-less gloves helped a little but at this rate, I was sure to lose the tips of my fingers before Christmas. 

I was also so lost in my own trance that I didn't realize the rest of the guys were pestering the new guy, Junior, about extra socks or gloves. I only queued in when they started singing the chant about extra socks. I was so out of it that I hadn't realized that Junior made the dumb decision to tell everyone he had extra smokes in a crowded truck. Next thing I knew, everyone was yelling and reaching forward and grabbing at Junior for extra smokes. I ducked my head down until Bill sat back and rested a smoke behind my ear. My shaky hands did nothing to help as I reached for the cigarette tucked at my head. One of the guys in front of me held his lighter out and I leaned forward to light  my smoke. Having the smoke helped with the chattering teeth I was trying so desperately to control, but did nothing for my shaking hands. I was about two seconds away from putting the smoke out on my skin just to feel warmth, but I knew Bill would probably yell at me, if he had the energy, for hurting myself like that, so instead, I let the smoke hang in between my lips as I tried to push myself further into the bench Bill was sitting on. 

I was just started to feel warm when the truck stopped and someone opened the back gate. I shivered so bad I almost dropped my smoke. Once the first row of guys jumped out of the truck, I tried to stand up, but my joints were so cold they didn't want to move until Bill stood up and pulled me to my feet from under my arms. 

"Thanks." I murmured to him as we jumped out of the truck, followed by Joe who had his hands tucked into his coat for warmth. We managed to find some sort of coats to go over top of our regular fighting OD's, but they weren't enough. The one I found fell down to about mid thigh which was nice since my legs were shaking so bad from the cold. 

I looked around and saw Winters and Nixon lecturing Lieutenant Dyke again. Bill and a couple others disappeared behind the trucks and Joe managed to swipe a couple more cigarettes as he lit both before handing one to me. 

"Jesus. Get back from Paris. Next thing you know, you're freezing your ass off waiting for orders. " He said, standing so close to me one would think we were trying to fuse into one. I was about to answer when I looked down the road at the mass of men walking straight for us. Except it wasn't threatening. 

"Joe, you seeing this?" I asked him, pointing down the road. 

"Hey, Bill, come look at this!" I called back to him as he popped up from around the truck and stood behind me. 

"Where they all going?" He asked, probably knowing neither of us had an answer. "Hey, where are you all going? You're going to wrong way." He said as the first few passed us. Brushing past me, he stopped one of the guys and asked what happened. There was wounded and tired men walking straight back towards the trucks. 

"They came out of no where. You gotta get out of here." The man said, obviously dazed, and it scared the life out of me. Bill looked back at me for a second before turning back to the guy. 

"Alright, well, give me your ammo. You got ammo?'' He asked the guy again before Joe and I started doing to same to other guys in the mass. 

"Hey, you got ammo? What about food rations? Any medical supplies on ya?" I asked rapidly, taking ammo belts off the men along with any other supplies they were willing to give or were easy for me to take. I managed to scrounge up about 10 ammo belts all with different amounts of ammo as well as 4 food rations and 7 med kits. I shoved them all in my bag for later before another Jeep pulled up with ammo boxes. 

"I got ammo! Come get some ammo, guys!" The young man said as we all practically ran to him. I held my arms out as Joe stacked two ammo crates and I moved them  over to a pile we had going. 

"You think we'll be good on ammo until the weather clears up?" I asked Joe as he set his boxes down next to mine. 

"Who knows. I'm hoping the Krauts will be to cold to fire any rounds at us when we get into the forest." he answered as we went back for more. I moved aside a couple boxes as Muck came up to the driver. 

"Hey, you got any martyr rounds, we're real short." he plead. 

"I'll see what I can find, but for now just hold tight." The driver said as I found a box that read 'Martyr'. 

"Hey, Muck! I got a box of martyrs for you!" I called after him. He turned around and marched over to my side quicker than one could count to one. I moved a few boxes aside and pulled up the one with martyr rounds and handed it to him. It felt light, which meant there wasn't much in the box. "I don't think it's much, but it should help." I told him as he took the box from my hands. 

"At least it's something. You're a doll." he said before walking away to his martyr buddies. I grabbed another metal case of bullets and walked them over to the pile where Joe was standing. 

"Think you can carry two boxes to where ever they're taking us?" he asked, ready to hand me another one. The cold was making my arms shake, but if I was carrying something it wasn't too bad.

"Yeah, I got it." I answered before he placed another metal box in my arms. I pulled my sleeves down, which had previously been rolled up for a bit, and used the fabric as a barrier to protect my hands from the cold metal handles. From there, we walked in the freezing cold until we hit our spot in the Ardennes Forest.

-

After hiding whatever ammo stocks we had at the company CP, the company began digging new foxholes or digging into previously made ones. The frozen ground wasn't easy to dig into, but the constant movement helped us keep warm instead of sitting around. We set up OP's on the edge of the treeline overlooking the open stretch that separated us from the German's. Fog set in sooner than we'd all expected which meant we had no air support and the planes couldn't fly into to make supply drops- no matter how bad we needed them. 

"Lieutenant Edwards!" someone called to me in almost an angry tone as I was digging a foxhole under a tree, hoping the tree would help protect whoever was in it from the wind if it ever came from the West. I stood up and looked around to see Lieutenant Dyke walking towards my position. 

"Yes, sir." I said, throwing my entrenching tool out of the foxhole. Lieutenant Dyke has been disappearing into his own foxhole since we got here. What got me mad was he didn't even dig his own foxhole he had some poor replacement dig it for him. Said it was so the Private to get onto his good side. 

"Lieutenant Edwards, what are you doing digging another fox hole?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Oh, great. 

"Oh, um...this is more of a test foxhole. I was thinking maybe if we dug some foxholes beside trees or even around them, it might help protect against wind. This one here might protect against wind from the West if it ever comes." I explained. The tree was wide enough a person could stand  behind it and someone would have a hard enough time trying to spot  them from the opposite direction.  

"I see what you mean." He said, nodding and looking at the tree and the foxholes I dug under it. "Anyway, I need you to make some rounds. Make sure we're set up at all OP's and that our perimeter is in place." he ordered before walking away. I specifically remembered Captain Winters saying he wanted Dyke to do that and report back to him. Now it looks like Dyke was gong off to hide in another foxhole. I set my bag by the tree, placing my shovel on top of it, before climbing out of the deep foxhole I had dug out. I found my way at one end of our perimeter and started walking down the line, visiting each OP station and ever foxhole watching the line before walking around the entire perimeter, making sure everyone had their ammo and needed tools on the line before rounding back to company CP. I saw the half-ass tent set up and increased my walking pace. I had my hands tucked into my coat pockets as I approached Winters and Nixon talking. 

"Captain Winters." I mumbled, gaining their attention. 

"Yes, Lieutenant Edwards." Winters inquired, turning to face me. 

"Um...all the OP's are set. Line seems to be secured so far." I informed him, trying to shove my hands farther into my pockets even though I knew they wouldn't go any farther. Winters and Nixon exchanged looks before Winters turned back to me.

"Thank you, Lieutenant, but I thought I asked Dyke to do that?" he questioned. I sighed and looked down at my boots before looking back up.

"You probably did, sir, but Lieutenant Dyke approached me and asked me to do it, so I did. Better than sitting in a cold foxhole." I told him. His expression changed to something disapproving. 

"Alright, Thanks Lieutenant." he said before turning back to Nixon. I only nodded, knowing he wouldn't see it, before turning and walking back to my foxhole under the tree. I hadn't seen Bill or Joe for the day, mainly because we were stretched so thin on the line no one saw anyone in the fog. I dragged my bag into my foxhole and used it as a backrest/barrier from the cold dirt behind me as I sat down. I was exhausted after walking all the way to the line and then digging foxholes for hours on end. It took longer than we all wanted to dig a foxhole merely because the ground was as frozen as we were. The fog meant we were all paranoid of our surroundings which meant a lot of us didn't want to walk around above ground too much. Except there wasn't much to do when the German's weren't firing at us and none of your friends were around you. Bill and Joe were probably off doing important stuff or even just looking for trouble, so I didn't bother finding them. Instead, I curled up in the corner of my foxhole and shut my eyes for a bit, hoping to get some sleep before anything exciting happened. 

-

When I woke up, I had a blanket over me and I couldn't see more than five feet ahead of me. I looked up and the sky was dark which meant I managed to sleep through sunset, but since I didn't know what time it was when I fell asleep and I don't know what time it is now, I can't tell how long I was asleep for. I pushed myself into a more seated position and pulled the blanket up to my chin. I don't know who the Saint was that dropped this blanket in my foxhole, but I was sure thankful. 

I sat awake for a while, waiting for any yelling so I could go running to the rescue or whatever. The fog had blocked what might have been a full moon and even some stars in the sky, but the view wasn't the only thing it was blocking. Oh, how we desperately need an air-drop. I looked down from the sky and looked straight ahead to the other side of my foxhole before looking down at my knees that were tucked under the blanket. Any wound that I had previously was either fully healed or on the brink of being fully healed. The only pain I felt now was the cold and the pain I felt from my joints cracking. Running in high school really took a toll on my legs and now, whenever it got cold, my knees complained the most. Cracking and popping every time I stood up or straightened them. Stealth wasn't my thing in the winter. 

I stuck my right leg out straight, my knee cracking, before tucking it back into the blanket and doing the same with the left. My toes were numb and my socks were probably wet from walking around in snow. My mind was starting to wander off somewhere else before I heard footsteps crunching in the snow and getting closer to the foxhole I was in. I tensed up as someone jumped into the foxhole with me, but I relaxed when I saw it was only Joe.

"You scared the shit out of me, man." I told him. He only chuckled a bit. 

"Sleepyhead is finally awake. Have a nice nap?" He joked as I moved over and bit and pulled back the blanket a bit. He sat down beside me as I threw the blanket over both of us. 

"Anything happen while I was asleep?" I asked him, pulling my part of the blanket up to my chin again. 

"Only Winters giving Dyke a piece of his mind. Apparently he made one of the other Lieutenants take a walk along the line to check the OP's so he could hide in his foxhole." He told me, making me laugh a bit. 

"Well, that other Lieutenant was me." I told him. 

"You serious?" He questioned and I only nodded. "Wow. Getting Dyke in trouble. Nice. Hey, keep it up and maybe you'll take his place as he's dragged off the line for being a coward.'' he added. 

"Maybe. It'd be nice to do something useful instead of checking the OP's and making sure the line is secured." I groaned. Talking about Dyke made me irritated, but I couldn't show it or else it might get used against me. 

"You know, I think we do ok with Dyke in his foxhole away from everything. He can't fuck nothing up in combat if he stays in his foxhole." Joe admitted.

"Yeah...." I murmured before resting my head against the dirt wall behind me. The rest of the night was quiet. The occasional flare came up from the Germans, but no one moved and no one said anything until the morning. Even then, no one moved unless it was OP shift change or food was called. They managed to get the cook and his pot warmer far enough away from the line that he could heat up some chow for us without being spotted by Germans. I'm sure the hot food was great except Dyke put me on OP with Perconte and told us that he'd send a replacement for us after a while. Cobb came to replace Frank after a few hours. And then Lieb came to sent Cobb away- which I was thankful for- and then Bill came and switched with Lieb. And yet no one came and replaced my post. No matter how many times I asked. I spent from sunrise to sunset out on the OP. Bill had been the best company to have on the OP. Cobb had been a nightmare. Frank was brushing his teeth and Lieb was a chatterbox today. Joe was the only one I wasn't annoyed with. 

"You hear what Dyke did?" He asked after silence fell for a while. 

"About making another Lieutenant check the OP's when we first got here?" I questioned, already knowing that story very well. 

"Yeah. I figured word got around fats enough." He chuckled. 

"Bill, I was the other Lieutenant that checked the line. And yes, I already know Winters chewed him out for it. That's probably why I've been here all fucking day. Dyke is pissed at me for what ever reason so now I'm stuck on OP duty." I told him. The irritation and rage in my voice wasn't so subtle anymore. 

"Jesus Christ, you been here all day?" he questioned, taking his eyes off the line to look at me with disbelief. 

"From sunrise to sunset. Now I have a feeling I might be here until morning too." I told him, watching the opposite treeline for movement. 

"Jesus." he whispered, shaking his head. "You didn't even piss off Sobel that much." He reminded me. Sobel was probably the person who was most opposed to me being in the company when I first got to Toccoa. In fact, he kept trying to assign me to mess hall duty instead of training, but without proper cause. Sink caught onto it right away and threatened Sobel about something and it  stopped until I was getting too good at the training activities that he was making random excuses to assign me to mess hall. His excuse was I needed to slow down and let the men catch up in skill ranking. The last time I was assigned mess hall was when Sobel assigned Winters to mess hall as a test of his organizational skills when he got promoted. 14 days later, Winters and I were back to training with the men and before long, we were in Europe waiting to jump into Normandy. A few times I pressed my luck against Sobel when I was chirping under my breath at some things he said. A few others got in shit for encouraging me when they heard what I said and couldn't help but laugh. 

"I mean, what else is Dyke going to do? Assign me to the non-existent mess hall? Make me volunteer at our imaginary aid-station?" I joked. 

"He could work you to death, but that would defeat the purpose since you do that already." Bill said. There's been a few times where I voluntarily looked for trouble in the field and did end up almost working myself to death and I feared that might  happen again, but against my own will. 

"Wouldn't make a difference. Either the cold gets to us or the Krauts will." I admitted. I know most of the guys were trying to think positive about the shitty situation, but since we got here, my mood seemed to change and I wasn't the happy, go-lucky jokester I used to be. Even then, that title went to Muck most days. 

"Way to brighten the mood there, Gabi." He mumbled. 

"You know it's true, bud. Whether you want to admit it or not. Our chances of making it out of here without frost bite or hypothermia are slim to none." I said. 

"What, you got hypothermia or something? Is that why you're all...chip off the old shoulder or something?" he questioned. 

"If I had hypothermia, Doc would've pulled me off the line and sent me back to town and chances are I would be sent back to England to be in that stupid general hospital again." I muttered with a bored expression. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Bill looking at me in disbelief again. 

"Maybe being on OP watch all day has really gotten to you." he said before silence. I knew he was probably sensing something was off with me since Paris and I can't lie, something was off with me, but I couldn't pinpoint what. It was only a matter of time before Joe spotted it too. It almost tore me apart not knowing what the hell was wrong with me. Usually, I knew exactly what I was feeling or why I was feeling a certain way, but now I just couldn't and it terrified me more than being at the front line with Germans directly in front of us. 

-

The only time I was called off OP was before the sun rose the next morning. Bull came and swapped me places while a replacement took Bill's spot. Joe had been waiting at the foxhole all night, just him and the blanket. Bill disappeared to go find something before we even reached the foxhole. I was about to jump down into the hole in the ground when Lieutenant Dyke came out of nowhere. 

"Lieutenant Edwards." he said sternly, as if he was acting to be a good commander. 

"Yes, Lieutenant Dyke." I said with a bored tone. I was ready to sit down and take another nap before doing anything else, but it seems like I wasn't going to get my wish. 

"I need you to go around to each foxhole and get an ammo count. Regiment would like updates on our standings." He told me before walking away. I watched as he walked away in the same disbelieving expression Joe had earlier. 

"What the fuck." Joe mumbled, peeking out from the foxhole. I slung my rifle over my  shoulder before turning to the foxhole and kneeling down 

"Can you hand me my bag, please?" I asked him. Without a fuss, he grabbed my bag  and plopped it down at my feet. 

"You get something to eat yet?" He asked as I rummaged through the bag to find a small notebook and a pencil. 

"I'll find something after I'm done." I told him, zipping my bag shut and throwing it into the foxhole. 

"It was a yes or no question." He argued. 

"Joe, you know I've been stuck at OP for the last day and a bit. You think I've had time to eat anything?" I snapped a bit. I took a breath in after realizing that now I was the snappy one. "I'll go find something to eat when I'm done. Don't worry." I said in a more calm tone before turning away and walking to the start of the perimeter. While I was walking in between foxholes and OP stations, my mind kept wandering back to how I snapped at Joe. He was looking out for me and I snapped at him. I made a mental note to apologize later as I came up to the OP station I was in all day. The replacement watched the line as Bull told me how much ammo they had before I moved onto the next. With in an hour or so, I had gotten to all the foxholes to do more inventory before making my way to CP. I was about to reach the half-ass tent when a hand stopped me. I turned to see Dyke with a stern look on his face. 

"Inventory is all done, sir." I said, ripping out the pages and handing them to him before walking away. If I had to deal with more of his bullshit, I was surely going to knock him out. I made my way over to where everyone was gathered getting hot food. 

"I'm making more. Come back in 10 minutes." The cook told me before taking the pot to his station. I sighed before beginning to retreat to the foxhole when Nixon stopped me. I had to refrain from letting out a groan that needed to be released. 

"Would you mind taking Roe to hook up with 3rd Battalion? There's a bit of a supply transfer."  He asked me. 

"Yeah, sure. Why not." I mumbled before walking over to Roe who was leaning against a tree. Obviously Winters or Nixon didn't know about the extra work Dyke has been making me do or else they probably wouldn't have sent me with him. All I wanted was food and a nap, just like everyone else got, but apparently, I'm the go-to person in this company. 

~

**Joe's POV**

~

I watched as Gabs and Doc Roe walked away into the foggy forest towards 3rd Battalion station. I know for a fact she's probably more exhausted than most of the men in the company. Hasn't slept or rested since I found her in the foxhole alone. Probably hasn't eaten anything for a day at least. Joe the cook has been here since we got here and everyone else has had a chance to eat except her. And it was only a matter of time before she withered away to nothing and I wasn't prepared to let that happen. 

While Gabs was away, I walked from foxhole to foxhole, visiting with whatever buddies I could find before I was sent to watch the line. I was there for a few hours with a couple replacements before three others showed up, one of them being Gabs...again. The replacements that were with me, climbed out of the foxhole as the other two jumped in to watch the line before I climbed out myself.

"When did you get back?" I asked Gabs, the dark circles under her eyes were more than noticeable. I felt bad that Dyke was making her do more work without Winters or Nixon knowing. 

"Just now. Winters sent me out with these two so that there was someone experienced enough to watch the line." She told me, shifting her rifle on her shoulder. 

"Did you at least get something to eat?" I asked her again. Every time food was being served, she was off doing something else. 

"Someone from 3rd battalion gave me some crackers, but it wasn't much. I'm living off water right now." she said, trying to force a smile. I knew she was probably in pain from the lack of food and sleep. Not to mention how obnoxiously cold it was. There was no doubt her shrapnel wounds from Carentan were probably bugging her. 

"You know, you can tell Winters what Dyke is doing. He's clearly pissed at you for some unknown reason, but if you tell Winters it might be enough to get him kicked out of the company and you can take his place." I told her. I know I wasn't the only one who wanted Gabs to take Dyke's spot. She was like Winters, knew what she was doing and wasn't afraid to step in and do some of the dirty work. She knew how to lead, but she just didn't have the opportunity. 

"I told Winters that I haven't had any food in a day or so. He said I would have to get through tonight and I could get a break." she said before letting out a sigh. "We're just stretched too damn thin on the line, everyone has been taking extra shifts on the OP. I'm not the only one exhausted." she said, taking her  helmet off and running a hand through her hair. 

"But we still have more men in this company. We can put them to work, give you a break! You, Bill and myself are the only one's that know what Dyke's doing and if you don't tell Winters, I'll do it for you." I told her. The same hate and rage I had for Dyke was coming up. Dyke pissed everyone off and it was only a matter of time before Gabs found the energy to tell him what's up. I was banking on it. I watched as Gabs placed her helmet on her head again and shifted her rifle higher up on her shoulder, the same arm that had the shrapnel in it from Carentan. She winced at something and I could tell she was uncomfortable. "Your shoulder bugging ya'?" I asked her. She moved  her eyes from watching the open space out in front of us to her shoulder before looking down at the ground. 

"Any minor wounds I had before aren't liking the cold. Same with my knees. I sit too long they seize up a bit. It's not fun." she told me, forcing another weak smile before covering a yawn with  her hand. 

"Go back to the foxhole, Gabs. I can take another shift on the OP. You need to rest." I told her. I was more than ready to jump back in the foxhole and sit on my ass for a few more hours if it meant she could get a damn break. 

"I'm fine, Joe. I can stay on the OP until morning. Don't forget,  you need sleep too." she said, throwing her rifle down into the foxhole in between the two replacements who had all eyes on the line, but no doubt had their ears in our conversation. 

"Gabs, you haven't slept since I found you alone in the foxhole. You need to rest. Keep going at this pace, you'll kill yourself before the Krauts get you." I told her, turning to walk away from the OP. "Come find me when you get off the OP. I'll make sure you get some food in the morning." I told her. 

"Yeah. Yeah, okay. I'll see you tomorrow, Joe." she said before kneeling down and jumping into the foxhole with the replacements. I took one last look back at the three before shaking my head and walking away for the night. Gabs was tough to get through to some times, everyone knew that. But what everyone seemed oblivious to, was the fact that she'll eventually run out of energy and patience and when that happens, we'll all be screwed. Because we won't have a trusted Lieutenant and Bill and I will lose our best friend in this company. 

~

I woke up in the next morning before the sun even came up, probably got a couple hours of sleep, but not much considering I've worrying about Gabs since we got here. As I grabbed my rifle and got ready to climb out  of the foxhole, I heard footsteps coming towards me. The constant fog made it difficult to see anything but a silhouette, but I knew it was her, mainly because she's smaller than most of the men here, even Perconte. 

"You kept your promise." I said, looking out of the foxhole as she knelt down before jumping in. The dark circles under her eyes seemed to have increased about ten times since we parted ways last night. 

"Don't I always?" she questioned jokingly.

"For the most part. I can't remember a time where you didn't." I said as we sat next to each other, trying to keep warm. "Anything exciting happen on OP?" I asked, pulling the blanket over the both of us.

"Nope." she answered, leaning into my side and pulling the blanket up to her chin. "The replacements wouldn't stop asking questions, though." she added. It was obvious she was tired of everyone's shit. 

"Like what?" I asked, moving my arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. 

"The usual shit. Asking about stuff like D-day, Carentan, the hospital, when I think they'll see real action. It's all the same, every time."  she explained before yawning once more. 

"Typical replacements." I muttered, looking up. The sun would be up soon and chances are, Dyke would send Gabs to go do some more stupid work that doesn't need to be done. I looked down and saw she had gone still, her eyes shut and her breathing steady meaning she was probably asleep or on the verge of being asleep. Knowing she was finally getting some rest put my mind at ease as I rested my head on hers and shut my eyes, hoping to get some more sleep before the sound of a martyr whistling through the air and making impact a bit away woke us both up. Gabs was the first one out of the foxhole with her rifle as I followed close by. I couldn't tell what she was thinking as we ran to where the martyr hit. It hit the foxhole full of replacements on the OP. Gabs pushed herself to the ground, her rifle up and ready to fire at the Germans; I followed suit, our position a few feet from the foxhole that was hit. 

"Lieutenant Edwards!" someone called from behind us as neither of us took our eyes off the line. "Lieutenant Edwards, what happened?" I recognized the voice as Winters as he stopped directly behind us. 

"I don't know, sir. I closed my eyes for a few minutes and a bomb dropped. Hit the foxhole dead on." she answered him as both of us kept our eyes on the treeline across the open field from us. 

"I'll go scrounge up some more men to cover this OP station. Stay here." he said before running back into the forest a bit more. 

"Why did they only fire one shot?" she asked quietly, scanning the parallel forest for movement. 

"I'm not a Kraut, I wouldn't know." I answered, looking both ways down our treeline to see a few other men doing the same as us. Before long, a few more men came and dragged what was left of the bodies out of the foxhole and a couple more set up before Gabs and I were pulled to company CP.

"They only fired one round, probably to see if we were still alive on our side of the forest." Nixon stated as he informed Colonel Sink about the shot. I wasn't aware he had ever arrived. 

"Lieutenant Edwards and Sergeant Toye were the first ones to the site of impact, they watched the line until we got more guys out there, but we had to pull them from the perimeter. We don't have enough men out here, Colonel." Winters explained as Gabs and I stood side by side, out of the way. The Colonel turned to look at us, the snow from the ground still clinging to our clothes. 

"You two did good getting to the line in a hurry. I'll see what I can do about the shortage of troops." he said before getting back in the Jeep and driving away with his driver. Winters dismissed us both as the company started to calm down a bit. 

"Well that was exciting." Gabs grumbled before walking off somewhere unknown. 

 

**~End of Chapter 11~**


	12. Bitter Sweet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm changing things in this chapter and the last because I've changed my feelings on this book and it's ending

**Joe's POV  
** **Bastogne**

**-**

A couple more days passed and Gabi still hadn't been eating much. I made sure she got as much rest as she could, but somehow, every time food was served, Dyke sent her off to do some weird task behind Winters' back. It was started to get on my nerves how Winters or Nixon hadn't noticed this shit, but Gabi made Bill and I promise not to do anything about it. Knowing both of us, we'd probably lose it on Dyke, get ourselves kicked out of the regiment. So I stayed out of it, just  like she asked me to. But after seeing her go without food for four days and without proper rest for about a week, I was starting to draw the line. 

Like usual, the cook hadn't made enough food or served too much of it to the rest of us that there was nothing left by the time Gabi got to it. If  it was up to me, she'd be eating first, but there was really nothing I could do since she was sent out on OP more often than some of the replacements. Even Bill was starting to complain he had seen her on OP more times than any other Lieutenant. The odd time Buck would assign himself, Dyke never did anything and was treating Gabi like some disposable Private. 

I watched from beside a tree as Gabi came back to the company CP from the OP, more exhausted than ever, and a squad was being assembled for a patrol in our area, securing the perimeter and looking for wandering Krauts. I couldn't hear exactly what Winters said to her, but Gabi nodded and turned back to follow the squad. I slung my rifle  over my shoulder and threw my helmet on my head before approaching Winters, ready to take her place to she could rest for longer than a damn minute before being sent back out. 

"Lieutenant Winters?" I said, stopping a good foot away from him. 

"Yes, Toye?" he asked, turning to a trunk with papers on top. 

"With all due respect, sir, I think Lieutenant Edwards should sit this patrol out." I told him before he turned back to me. 

"I need an experienced Lieutenant to go with all those replacements, Joe. Everyone else I trust is on the line right now." he said, turning back to his papers. 

"Sir, Edwards hasn't eaten in four days, hasn't slept for almost a week, sir. She's wasting away before our eyes and we both know how valuable a fighter she is." I told him, hoping to talk the man into letting her stay back. 

"And who should I send it her spot?" he questioned, obviously getting irritated with my constant nagging. 

"You could send me, sir. I'm not Lieutenant, but I've got the experience, you know that." I told him. "Sir, I'm real worried about Gabi, is all." I added, hoping it would help my argument. Winters looked at me like he was thinking about something before turning towards the squad that was assembled. 

"Lieutenant Edwards!" he called, waving her over. We both watched as she stumbled over, probably so tired she couldn't see straight. 

"Yes, sir." she said quietly as she stopped in front of him. Winters lifted a hand to her face, almost like he was examining her before nodding. "Toye, take her place. Edwards, I'm sending you with Doc Roe back into town. Get yourself a hot meal and get some rest." he ordered. She only nodded before he walked away. 

"I told you to stay out of it." she mumbled quietly, shifting her rifle strap off her shoulder. 

"You haven't eaten in four days, Gabi. I'm doing this for you." I told her. "Now go with Doc. Get some rest. I won't do anything about Dyke until you come back." I told her before walking over to the squad. I guess you could say I broke my promise to stay out of it, but I'm sure she would thank me later when she didn't starve to death or work until she killed  herself. 

~

**Gabriella's POV**

~

I stood at the CP until Joe left with the squad. I couldn't lie: I was grateful he talked Winters into taking my place. I wasn't sure how much longer I could stand up for. Eventually, I moved some papers aside and sat down on the trunk, feeling more light headed now that I didn't have anything to do. I didn't feel too  bad when I was moving around, but now that I stopped, the aftermath of not eating for a few days with no sleep was really getting to me. 

"Lieutenant Edwards." I looked up to see Winters standing in front of me. He pulled over a tree stump, I think, and sat down in front of me. "I have my suspicions that Dyke is the reason you haven't been resting lately." he said, looking me in the eye. 

"I think he's just trying to get back at me for something. I don't know what, but he gives me the most out of place jobs and I've spent more time on OP than most of the replacements have." I complained, feeling an ache in my neck and a pounding in my skull. 

"I'll have a talk with him. For now, you don't take any orders from him unless they're authorized by me, understand?" he told me, I only nodded. I placed a hand on the back of my neck and one the front of my head, both elbows resting on my knees. He was about to say something else when gun shots started firing and martyrs went off close to the line. We sat there for a while before we heard screaming. It was only a matter of time before a body was dragged out, either dead or half dead. 

"I was going to send Doc to town for supplies, but I guess he's going anyway. You go with him. I'll send a Jeep to bring you back after a couple days." Winters said before standing up and walking away. The sudden noises of battle brought my adrenaline levels up, but the more adrenaline pumping, the more I felt light headed. I moved my hands so that they both sat with my head in the center of them, hoping the wave of dizziness would pass, only it didn't. 

I tried to use my rifle to stand up, only to lose my balance and fall down. My knees it the ground first and the tip of the rifle hit my jaw as I fell. I felt something run down my neck and into my jacket as my vision started to fade. 

"Lieutenant Edwards!" someone called before my vision went black, but I could still hear what was going on around me. "Medic!" the same voice screamed. I felt a hand on the side of my face and one under my neck. But no matter how many times I blinked, everything was black. I heard the sound of running footsteps get closer as the sound of a vehicle approached. The running footsteps went past me before one set came back. 

"What happened?" a voice asked as both hands were forced away from my face and neck. 

"I don't know. I was running to find Captain Winters and found her lying on the ground." the first voice said. I could hear what they were saying but the voice seemed to be fading, like they were getting closer and then farther away. 

"Help me get her to the Jeep. I'll take her to the aid station." the second voice ordered before another set of running footsteps approached as the feeling of hands under my arms and knees jolted a sense of cold through my limbs. 

"Joe Toye said she hasn't eaten-" the third voice seemed cut off as I tried to control my head from falling back as I was lifted from the ground. I felt myself being placed on something cold, rumbly and flat before my hearing cut out too. 

-

When my hearing came back, the only thing I could hear was painful groans and terrified cries. If I didn't know any better, I would think I was in a hospital again, but knowing there was no hospital around Bastogne, I ruled it out quick as I tried to open my eyes. Surprisingly, my vision was back, but blurry. I tried to close my hand into a fist, but couldn't. I blinked a couple times before turned my head and looking down at my hand to see a darker skinned hand holding mine. I looked up to see a dark-skinned woman looking over me before calling for someone else. 

"Can you hear me? Miss? Can you hear me?" she asked over and over again in a thick African accent. My mouth was so dry I couldn't talk so I tried my best to nod as another woman appeared on my other side. "She's awake." the first woman told her as the new woman, both were presumably nurses, pulled down on my face, probably checking my eyes. 

"Get her some water." The new nurse ordered as the first one rushed off, my vision starting to come back. Features were more noticeable as the first  nurse came back. I was pulled up, my head supported since I was so weak, as a cold glass was held to my lips. The feeling of the cold liquid moving from my mouth, down my throat and into my empty stomach was more than refreshing as I was laid back down. 

"Where am I?" I croaked, my throat still dry. 

"You're in an aid station in Bastogne. A medic brought you in with another man from your company." the second nurse told me before her and the other nurse rushed off. I stayed still for a bit longer before turning my head to look around. I had a needle in my left arm feeding clear liquids into my bloodstream. I pushed myself to roll onto my left side to face a table where a glass of water was sitting. Using my right arm, I pushed myself up into a seated position. Using my left arm, I reached for the glass of water, slowly bring it to my mouth with both hands and taking small sips. Soon enough, I finished the glass of water and my vision returned to almost normal, aside from the little white dots I was seeing if I moved my head too fast. I ran a hand down my face, stopping at my jaw when a tinge of sharp pain ran through my skin. I felt the area and felt a bandage wrapped around my jaw and connected to my neck. They probably stitched up any cut I had from when I fell and hit the rifle in the jaw. 

After some time of sitting on the edge of the cot I was on, a new nurse brought me and the bag of clear liquids attached to my arm, out of the aid station. I was slow walking, but eventually, we made it to an old building where soldiers were getting hot meals before they were being sent back out to the line. I noticed Doc Roe sitting in a corner by himself. As the door shut  behind us, he looked up and immediately rushed over to help. I was brought  back to the same corner, still partially unaware of my surroundings and mildly drowsy. The Nurse set the bag of clear liquids down on the table as a young girl brought over two bowls of hot food and two glasses of water. 

"What are you doing up so soon? We expected you'd be out for another week or so." Roe told me, pushing one of the bowls in front of me. 

"How long was I out for?" I asked. MY throat wasn't as dry as before. 

"Only a few days. I went back shortly after I dropped you off here, found some boots for Joe Toye and some more medical supplies. Came back with another replacement." he told me before starting to eat the food from his bowl. I followed suit, as my stomach rumbled into something painful. 

"Do they know I'm here?" I asked again. If I was in an aid station, I'm sure both Joe and Bill would have walked off the line and back into town just to make sure I was ok considering they've  been nagging me to find some food, even if i had to steal it from someone.

"Yeah, they know. They're both pretty worried about you. Told them I would let them know of any changes, but it looks like you'll be ready to go in no time." he said before all went quiet and we finished our food. I was starting to feel better by now and Roe took the needle out of my arm and returned the bag to the aid station. 

"You'll be staying in one of the inns just down the road until the Doctor says you're good to go. I'll tell them you're awake. I'm sure they'll want you to get some more rest before coming back." Roe told me as we stumbled out of the building and towards a Jeep. 

"Thanks, Doc." I told him as he climbed in with his box of supplies. 

"And don't do anything too dangerous to your health. Joe will have my head if he finds out I left you here to die." he said before the Jeep took off back towards the line. A nurse came by and showed me the way to the inn where I was given another cot and a blanket before I was out like a light. 

-

When I woke up, my head didn't feel too groggy anymore and I could stand up without feeling as light headed as before. A nurse told me I had slept for two days straight, only being woken up so they could give me water and food, none of which I remembered, but obviously it happened because when I woke up after two days, the doctor said I was clear to return to the line. The bandage on my face was changed and held in place with a rough feeling, white tape before I was given my helmet back and brought outside to a Jeep. 

The ride back to the line was a bit sickening, the bumps in the road gave me sort of motion sickness which made me wish I had the motion sickness pills Roe gave us before we got onto the plane on D-day. As the town of Bastogne left my view and the forest getting closer and closer, I felt even more sick. Not physically sick, but sick. I knew there was more bullshit to come by the time Christmas hit. Either Bill or Joe probably wasn't going  to let me out of their sight when I got back. Dyke was probably pissed at me even though he practically tried to kill me. But as we started driving through the forest, a nervous feeling hit me like a pound of butter falling from the sky. I don't know why and I was probably over reacting, but the nervous feeling never left my gut, even after the Jeep stopped by the company CP and my boots hit the cold, snow covered ground. 

"Lieutenant Edwards. " Winters greeted as the Jeep drove away. "You're looking better than last time we saw you." he said, shaking my hand. 

"I feel better, too. Ready to return to work." I said with a partial smile. I was more physically ready to return, but mentally ready...now that was different. 

"Dyke won't be assigning you any more jobs. I'll let you know when I need you to return to OP or do any inventory." he said, poking fun at all the things Dyke made me do that was unnecessary. 

"Good to hear." I said, feeling relieved at both his words and the nervous feeling leaving. 

"Joe Toye should be getting off OP soon. Your rifle is over in your foxhole waiting for you." he told me before leaving. I started walking through the heavily fogged forest, starting to remember where my foxhole was. It was by a tree. Actually, it was dug at the base of a tree, leaving roots exposed a bit. I stood at the tree, waiting for Joe to get off OP duty. Chances are he'd come right to the foxhole since there was really nothing more to do. After waiting for a while, my legs were getting tired and cold from standing and I was about to hop into the foxhole when I spotted a silhouette walking towards me, mumbling something to themselves. 

"Stupid fucking Dyke. He causes more problems than the goddamn Krauts." Joe complained before seeing me standing next to the tree. "Well holy shit." He said, his rifle falling off his shoulder as I walked around the foxhole and straight for him. 

"I'm alive!'' I exclaimed before being pulled into a hug. It was evident that he didn't want to let go. 

"Jesus, woman! You scared the hell out of me, you know that!" He told me. 

"Forget about you, I scared the hell out of myself." I said, pulling away from the hug. No one must have told him about me collapsing onto the rifle and slicing my jaw because he took one extra glance at my face and went into defensive mode. 

"What the hell happened to your face?" he asked, pointing to the bandage on my jaw. 

"Shortly after you left with the squad I might have collapsed and hit my jaw off my rifle." I told him. "But the dark circles under my eyes are going away." I said, pointing to my under eye bags while trying to change the subject. 

"I see that." he said as we turned to the foxhole. "So, you feeling better? You should feel better you were gone for almost a week." He asked, ending his sentence with a scoff. 

"Much better. And it's all thanks to you!" I exclaimed, pinching his cheek a bit in a playful manner, only to have him swat my hand away gently. 

"You should listen to me more often, it might help in the long run." 

**~End of Chapter 12~**

 


	13. Cold, Cold, Go Away, Before Your Hands Seal Our Fate

**-**

**Bastogne**

**-**

The days following my return were less than exciting. Bill was glad to see me back in one piece, but was still pissed off about Dyke. I couldn't lie, but so was I. Same with Joe except he didn't show it much as Bill or myself. While Bill was more distant after my return, Joe hadn't left my side. The two of us were often sent out on the OP line together except I wasn't left behind like before. Whatever orders I received was directly from Winters and Dyke ignored my existence with a passion. Can't blame him though. If I saw that bastard anymore than necessary, I would probably end up skewering the man with my bayonet. And although the company was still critically short on food rations, medical supplies, ammo and winter gear, spirits remained high as groups of men sat in circles or in their respective foxholes chatting and joking about God knows what when  they weren't watching the line. 

When I arrived in the Jeep, something felt off, but I wasn't sure what it was. A day later, I found Babe out on a log watching nothing but a small clearing through the trees- almost like a path. He didn't move a muscle aside from every time he shivered after letting out a sniffle or two. I hadn't made any efforts to get to know the kid except when Bill and him were talking and I was nearby, but it still hurt to know he lost one of his friends: another replacement named Julian. He felt most bad  because he wasn't able the drag his body back to our line, collect his things and send it home to his mom. Now the only thing Julian's mom will receive is a letter thanking her son for his service and the same automated condolences that no one really means. 

One good thing that came out of it, was the fog cleared enough for our planes to fly in and drop supplies. Except we didn't know that until fighter jets shot at us, forcing us to retreat to the treeline  in time to see the C-47's fly above. Some drops landed near us and we scrambled to get to them, but majority of them landed in the town of Bastogne, where Doc Roe was sent to retrieve as many supplies as he could with a couple other men. When he returned, he immediately started handing out ammo, food rations and smokes before everyone retreated back to their foxholes with high spirits once more. It didn't make up for the fact we had still lost men due to the lack of equipment or even to the Germans.

If that wasn't bad enough, word came through that the Germans were pulling armor into the forest and planning an attack. I don't know where that word came from, but everyone was preparing: evening out the ammunition along the front line and the foxholes behind the front line, medics were getting their supplies ready to go and machine guns were setting up watch on the edge of our tree line. I was stationed with Smokey Gordon in his foxhole. His machine gun partner was non-existent, but he was more than capable of manning a machine gun by himself. I was just there for back up and the enforced regulation of having two to a foxhole at all times, especially in these circumstances. 

I held my rifle up, the barrel resting on a rock so it was out of the snow. I waited as Smokey sat back in the foxhole, making coffee behind me. His machine gun was set up and ready to go. All we needed was for the Germans to come out of their treeline and try to scorch us. The inevitable thought of us being out numbered kept crossing my mind, and there was no doubt that the Germans had more man-power than us. 

"Where the fuck are these Germans?" Smokey groaned, leaning forward to his gun. I didn't take my eyes off the line as I shifted on the spot a bit. 

"Somewhere out there." I answered before an armored vehicle drove towards the tree line, a German tank following close behind. I turned to the  back of the foxhole to see Lipton running up behind, telling everyone to hold their fire. We didn't want to give away our positions too soon so we would have to fire after they start firing at us. Smokey pulled the lever back on his machine gun, loading the first bullet on the belt into the chamber. I placed my finger ever so lightly over the trigger, my eyes ready at the sight and more than ready to start shooting. I watched as the Germans all stood at a stand still along the tree line. One of the guns on the armored vehicle moved, pointing in on our foxhole before a bullet came flying and hit Smokey in the shoulder, causing him to fall back into the foxhole. The machine guns opened fire on the Germans in an exchange of bullets. 

"Medic!" I screamed before moving over and taking over on the machine gun. I hadn't had much experience with it, but from watching the others maneuver the massive M1 Brownings, I was sure it was simple. "Medic!" I yelled once more before holding the belt of ammunition up with my left had and pulling the trigger, moving the gun with my right hand. I tried my best to hit the armored vehicles, hoping to take out the shooters of the .50 cal guns on the top. I hit one before they started spraying the foxhole with bullets. I ducked down and faced the back of the foxhole only to find Smokey gone, but blood stained dirt left behind. The firing stopped raining down on the foxhole as I stood up once more, reloaded the machine gun with a few curses and hard hits  to the sides and started firing once more, hitting a few on-foot Germans and hitting the .50 cal shooters on the armored vehicles before hosing down on the running Germans on my third reload. 

*

Later that night, after the fighting ceased, I sat in my foxhole under the tree and wondered how Smokey was doing. We weren't close, but I still shared a foxhole with him from time to time. I nagged at myself for not even realizing that a medic had come up and dragged him away without even noticing. I called for a medic and went straight to killing with a gun I didn't know too well how to handle. I will admit, I did more damage with my first time on a machine gun than I would have with my rifle. Only it cost us a lot of ammo. 

"Lieutenant Edwards." a voice said from outside the foxhole. I looked up to see Captain Winters jump down into the foxhole and take a seat beside me. 

"You hear anything on Smokey, sir?" I asked, not even greeting the higher ranking officer. 

"Paralyzed from the waist down. Bullet must have hit a nerve or something." he told me as I let out an anguished sigh. 

"I didn't even notice they took him away until I ducked into the foxhole. They sprayed bullets at me and I ducked and he was gone." I admitted, my words shaky as I tried to hold back tears and a building sob. 

"You did good today, Edwards. I know I've never had you on a machine gun before, but you took initiative to take over when Gordon got hit. I'm sure it's what he would have wanted you to do." Winters told me in a comforting voice. Although I agreed with his words, I still couldn't get over the fact that I had turned my back to a fellow soldier in pain. I didn't even try to help him even though I had a med kit on me. 

"I had a med kit when he was hit. I could have done something and yet my first instinct was to kill. I turned my back on someone who needed help." I said as the tears made it out, but the sob was pushed down. I brought my knees closer to my chest as I rested my head on my arms. 

"But he's alive. He'll get to go home and see his family again and that's what matters." he told me, placing a hand on my shoulder. I refused to look him in the eye so instead of lifting my head, I stayed curled up in my state of despair. "Get some rest, Edwards. You deserve it." he said before climbing out of the foxhole. I sat there shivering for a minute longer before feeling the need to walk around, probably to clear my head. The exhaustion made it easier for me to hold onto the things that I needed to let go like the situation with Smokey. I knew there was nothing I could do to prevent him from being paralyzed, but the least I could have done was place a bandage on his bullet wound, maybe tell him it was going to  be ok, but I didn't. 

I walked farther away from my foxhole in an undetermined direction. The men would be in their foxholes, sleeping or watching the line. I walked farther and farther away from any cluster of foxholes until I reached a small clearing where the moonlight managed to shine down onto for the first time since we got here. The clear night sky was a welcoming change to our predicament. I stopped on the edge of the clearing, leaning my right side into a tree as I wiped my eyes. The clearing was only about 12 meters in diameter and the  trees around it was in the shape of a circle almost like a popular witching spot. I turned and pressed my back into the  tree as I let out another anguished sigh. When I accepted the offer to join the American Paratroopers, I knew the war was going to be bad, but I didn't think it would be _this_ bad. I lifted my hands to my head as I pushed my helmet off and ran my hands through my hair, pulling my head back to hit the tree. MY helmet hit the ground with a soft thud at the same time a twig snapped off to my left, presumably where I just came from. My head turned to see a silhouette walking towards me, but hidden in the shadows of the trees. 

"Gabs, is that you?" a voice asked as the silhouette came to the edge of the clearing. I recognized it as Joe considering he was the only one that called me 'Gabs', similar to how Bill was the only one would called me 'Gabi'.  "What are you doing out here?" he asked again when I didn't answer his first question. 

"Could ask the same about you." I retorted as he followed the edge of the clearing to the tree I was leaning against. 

"I went to the foxhole to find you, but you weren't there. Someone said they saw you walk off over here after Winters left." He explained, stopping at the tree behind me. "You doing okay? You've been distant since the fight." 

"Couldn't tell ya." I muttered, looking down at my hands, my fingers picking at each other. It was a habit of mine when I was feeling on the down side to pick at my fingers. Being overseas didn't help one bit and I found myself submitting to the habit more than I did before.

"You can't blame yourself for what happened to Smokey." He told me, leaning against the tree as well. "Besides...You were kick ass with that machine gun." he said, nudging my arm a bit. I felt myself cracking a smile at the machine gun part when I remembered Joe was in a foxhole a few yards behind the one I was in. 

"Maybe I'll get a new job besides sitting around waiting for the position of platoon leader to open up." I suggested, looking down at the ground. 

"Dyke will be gone soon enough. Either he gets taken off the line by Winters or the Germans send a snipe shot straight through his skull." He said, shifting his rifle on his shoulder. 

"Maybe it won't be a German." I said suggestively. Everyone knew that if the Germans didn't get to Dyke, one of us was bound to fumble with a grenade or misfire our weapon. I looked to my side to see Joe shaking his head with a grin on his face. 

"You're crazy, you know that right?" he said, looking back up at me. 

"I've been told that a couple times, yeah." I said with a sly smirk. For a moment I had forgotten why I was upset and when I remembered, I decided to let it go for now and enjoy the company of a friend. We stood in silence a little while longer, eventually I picked up my helmet and dusted the snow out of it and placed it back on my head before taking a look around us. 

"Hey, Joe?" I said, smacking his arm lightly. 

"Yeah." he mumbled, resting his head against the tree. 

"Where the hell are we?" I asked, it dawning on me that both of us wandered away from our line without looking for any landmarks to find our way back. 

"Good question." he answered, looking back in the direction we came from. "I think I followed you in a straight line from over there." he said, pointing back in the trees. 

"We should probably head back before the Krauts find us out here." I said, tucking my hands in my pockets to warm up. I pushed myself away from the tree and walked beside Joe as we stepped right through the clearing, putting us out in the open and lit up by the moon above us. 

"Halt! Hebt die Hände in die Luft!" a voice yelled from behind us. I spun around to see a lone Kraut standing in the edge of the clearing, his rifle pointing right at me. Joe turned around and raised his rifle to shoot the Kraut but not before the German let off a couple shots, both bullets grazing me in three different spots. I landed in the snow as my leg  gave out before Joe fired at the German, killing him instantly before kneeling down beside me. I could feel the bullet graze on the inside of my thigh for sure, but there was so much pain in my chest I couldn't tell if the other two bullets were grazes or actual bullet wounds. 

"Shit!" Joe cursed as he  unzipped my jacket and search for the source of the blood coming out of my side. I writhed in pain as he pushed his hand into my ribs, trying to stop the bleeding from the second graze. 

"Maybe it wasn't such a good idea for the sky to clear up." I groaned as I placed a hand on the wound on my thigh, trying to slow the bleeding with nothing but my hand. 

"This clearing isn't safe." He said before standing up and hoisting his rifle out of the way before grabbing fistfuls of my jacket and dragging me into the trees. I couldn't hold back the occasional yelp as my leg brushed over a stick on the ground or Joe pulled to hard on my jacket. I heard footsteps running towards us as Joe stopped dragging me. 

"What happened?" someone asked. I looked up and saw Roe kneeling down on my right side where Joe was previously. 

"We walked right through a clearing, out in the fucking open. I don't think it's too bad though." Joe explained, holding a hand to the graze on my thigh. 

"Graze on the shoulder for sure." Doc said tying a bandage around my left shoulder. "How's the leg?" he asked Joe. I looked down as Joe moved his hand, ripping part of my trousers away to inspect the graze. 

"It's just a graze, it's not bad." He answered, moving his hand back to covering the wound. I let my head fall as I tried to stay calm. I knew it wasn't bad, but it still hurt like a bitch. I felt Roe move the material of my jacket away as he placed a bandage on my side, wrapping the excess of it around my torso and tying it off. Roe moved to my other side as Joe moved his hands away from my leg. The thigh graze hurt the most especially since it hit  the inner thigh. I looked up as Nixon ran over after hearing commotion. 

"What's going on?" he asked, kneeling down by my head. 

"Three bullet grazes, no morphine." Doc explained, wrapping a bandage around my thigh. "I'm gonna send her back to the aid station." He said as my head perked up. 

"I'm not going back to no aid station." I fought back as Doc moved away. 

"You're going back to an aid station if Doc says you are." Joe argued. 

"I can't go back  there, not now." I groaned as Roe turned to me again. 

"Listen, I'm sending you to an aid station. Get fixed up and get yourself some new trousers. While you're there, I need you to bring back some more morphine and any other medical supplies you can. We seem to run outta this shit faster than we think." Roe told me as I nodded, starting to feel panicky. "We gotta get her to the Jeep." He said as Joe grabbed both my legs and lifted me off the ground as Nix managed to lift me up with his hand under my arms, careful not to disturb the bandages. I felt myself beginning to black out as they carried me through the trees, ignoring any questions as we passed foxholes and eventually reached CP where Spina had a stretcher ready on the Jeep. 

"Remember: Morphine first, then find any other supplies you can." Roe told me as I was placed on the stretcher. I nodded as the Jeep backed up and finally pulled away from the line. This would be my second time going to the aid station in the span of a month and I wasn't too proud of it. 

-

**Bill's POV**

-

Distant gunshots seemed to alert everyone on the line. I hadn't seen Joe or Gabi since the attack which panicked me more than I would have liked. 

"Five gunshots. That doesn't sound good." Buck stated. I listened carefully until someone shouted for a Jeep. I watched as Doc Roe ran from CP and into the dark towards Gabi's foxhole. "Isn't Gabi's foxhole over there?" Buck asked, probably noticing my panic. 

"What's why I'm worried." I said, watching in that direction. After a while, Nixon ran out after Roe and before long, Roe came running back followed by Nixon and Joe carrying a body. 

"Shit!" I cursed, climbing out of the foxhole and half-running, half-walking towards them as they loaded the body onto a stretcher before the Jeep pulled away, just as I got there. 

"What the hell happened?" I asked as Joe turned to face me with a sad expression. 

"We were right out in the open. She's got three bullet grazes." He told me as Nixon and Roe disappeared somewhere else. "Doc only sent her to the aid station to get supplies after she get's fixed up. Should be back soon." he said, almost like he was reassuring himself that she would be okay. 

"That's not bad, I guess. She should be back in a couple days at best." I stated as we both retired to foxholes for the night. Bastogne has been bringing Gabi the worst luck. 

-

**3 Days Later**

**-**

**Gabriella's POV**

-

As the Jeep came to a rough stop, Captain Winters came over with Nixon and took the box of supplies from my hands before helping me out of the Jeep. 

"How was the Aid Station?" Nix greeted as I took the box back from Winters. 

"Second trip there in the span of a month, not too happy about it." I said, carrying the box out in front of me as the Jeep pulled away. 

"Well at least it was nothing too major." Winters stated as we approached CP were Roe and Spina were dishing out their remaining supplies. 

"Ho Ho Ho." I greeted, getting their attention. 

"Hey! Just in time for Christmas!" Spina cheered as I set the box down on a crate, handing them a couple boxes of morphine surrettes before laying out the rest of my finds, stuffing a couple cartons a smokes and a couple chocolate bars into my pockets before they could get to them. 

"You feeling better?" Roe asked me as he organized his medical supplies. 

"A little stiff, but I think I'll make it." I answered as he handed me three of the bandages I brought back. 

"Change your bandages in a couple days to keep the wounds from getting infected." he told me as I stuffed the bandages in different pockets. 

"You got it." I said as Spina retreated somewhere else. "You see Bill and Joe anywhere?" I asked, eager to see my friends again. 

"They're on the OP until nightfall I think." Roe answered. I thanked him and began my hobbling journey to the OP line where I found both of them watching the line in the same foxhole. Bill turned around almost immediately after hearing my footsteps, pointing a pistol at me for precaution. 

"Please don't shoot me. I just got back from being shot at." I said with a cheeky grin. 

"Just in time for Christmas." He said, helping me into the foxhole as Joe turned to face me. 

"Back so soon? We were starting to think you'd stay at the Aid Station." he joked wrapping an arm around my shoulders. 

"Couldn't let you two live out a European Christmas without me." I told them, fishing through my pockets and pulling out the cartons of smokes and chocolate bars before handing one of each to them. 

"Merry Christmas fellas." I said as they looked down at the gifts with surprise. 

"Jesus, you really do spoil us." Bill stated, opening up the carton of smokes first, shoving the chocolate bar in his pocket, presumably for later. 

"I guess getting sent to the aid station was a good thing, eh?" I said, sitting back to give my leg a break. 

"You doing okay?" Joe asked, his attention back on the line.

"They stitched me up and sent me on my way. All is fine and dandy." I smiled, knowing they wouldn't see it since I was behind them. I sat in the foxhole with the two of them until their shift on the OP was done. Bill retired to his own foxhole next to Buck and Joe and I disappeared to the foxhole I dug out under the tree. The night was quiet for the most part. Closer to midnight you could hear the German's singing in their foxholes and for once there wasn't any flares going up to try and spot our position. 

"So much for being home by Christmas." Joe mumbled from beside me. The cold was still getting to us so we were curled up as close  to each as we could without forging into one person. 

"That idea was scraped back in Holland, remember." I mumbled, pulling my part of the blanket up to my face. 

"Right, right after you pulled that little 'play dead' stunt. I remember." he said, cracking a smile. Looking back on anything that happened before Bastogne, it seemed like anything before now was minor compared to what we faced out here. I hoped this would be the part where it got worse before it got better, but I would never really tell until I got home, anyway that should be. 

"At least we're not spending Christmas in a grave." Joe added as I rested my head on his shoulder. 

"Except I'm stuck spending Christmas with you." I joked, poking him in the ribs a bit.

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" He defended, knowing very well I was only messing with him. 

"You know what it means." I told him as he shifted to rest his head on top of mine before more silence. The  sky was still clear and there was a ton of stars out in the sky. There wasn't a full moon like the night I got shot up, tonight was a crescent moon, but gave off just as much moonlight. 

"Hey, Gabs." Joe said after moments of neither of us talking. 

"Yes, Joe." I muttered, my eyes feeling tired and sleep sneaking up on me fast. 

"If we're home by next Christmas, would you be mad if I showed up at your doorstep?" He asked, pulling the blanket up to his chin. 

"Not at all." I answered. I never really had any close friends I got to spend holidays with in between visiting with my family. 

"Maybe I'll drag Bill along with us, eh?" he added. 

"That would be one dysfunctional holiday, that's for sure." I stated. The three of us together in war is chaotic enough. I could only imagine how much more chaotic we'd be at home during the holidays. 

"Holy shit, would it ever be." He chuckled as I let out a quiet yawn. 

"We just have to live long enough to make it to next Christmas." I mumbled, ready to fall asleep and not wake up until the end of the war. 

"We made it this far, haven't we?" he questioned. 

"I don't know about you, but I just barely made it this far." I stated, pulling the blanket up to  my mouth and holding it there, hoping the cold wouldn't reach my chapped lips and stop hurting them. 

"Trouble seems to find you easier than it finds the rest of us." he said. With nothing to add or reply to that, I just nodded as I shut my eyes for the night. I know trying to finish the war was going to be rough, but if I can make it this far with minor wounds, I was sure to make it home. 

-

By December 26th, Patton lead a crew to overtake land from the German's, freeing us from our encirclement and allowing us to be pulled off the line for a bit. Patton and other figures in the regiment boasted about how they 'saved' us. Myself, Joe, Bill and countless others in Easy Company believed we didn't need to be 'saved'. But we were all thankful that they managed to pull us off the line for a bit.

**~End of Chapter 13~**


	14. Savior of the Winter

**-**

**January 2nd, 1945**

**-**

When they threw us back on the line, they sent us with a new mission. The Battle of the Bulge was only partially complete and needed a little bit more time to complete our fight against the Germans in rigid cold. We were still stationed in the Ardennes Forest in Belgium and our main focus was to push the Germans back through the Bulge and towards a town called Foy. We needed to clear the woods near Foy until given orders to attack Foy itself, which would cost us a lot of man-power, especially since Dyke was still hanging around. 

The walking helped keep us warm for the most part. We gained some better winter clothing, but the cold winds still broke through, freezing our very cores. I had lost track of Bill and Joe during the thousand yard creep through the woods, to which we were met with few minor casualties. One of them being Joe. He was sent off the line with shrapnel in the back of his shoulder. The thought of it make my shoulder twitch in the exact spot where my  bullet graze was. 

Over the course of a couple  days, Hoobler had killed a German on horseback and to his surprise found himself a Luger. Both he and Malarkey have been searching for one since we dropped into Normandy and Hoobler finding one only lead to massive amounts of annoyance from everyone else as he went from foxhole to foxhole showing it off. That was until he decided to store it in his pants, leading to a misfire and an artery hit in the leg. He died surrounded by Lipton, Doc Roe, Buck and a couple others that were there when it happened. Everyone thought the Germans had opened fire, but were confused when it stopped after one gunshot. Word spread quickly and the mood of the forest changed once more. 

At one point, Nixon was offered a chance to go back to America on some military convention thing, I think it was. I could be wrong. Either way, he declined and he and Winters spent a day and a bit figuring out who to send home. Winters approached me, asking for my opinion to which I told him as long as it wasn't me, I could care less. We needed Buck here and I didn't want to leave Bill and Joe behind so the eventual decision came down to Lieutenant Peacock, surprisingly enough. I would have thought Lieutenant Dyke's actions in Bastogne towards me would have been enough to send him away, but since this was a decision to send someone back to their family and not transferred out of the regiment, the three of us agreed Dyke didn't deserve it. 

By then, regiment had sent out a camera crew to document our time in the forest to show to the people back home how we were doing. Of course, we were forced to smile, wave and say nothing but positive things if interviewed. All so the people back home would be more interested in buying war bonds of sorts. I know my family would have donated to the cause even if I wasn't here. I was wondering what they did donate now that I was fighting. 

-

I was interviewed by one of the cameramen, mainly asking how I was fitting in with the men even though I'd been with them for going on three years now. My interview was cut short due to my lack of interest and the cameraman moved onto someone else. I was more interested in hearing what Colonel Sink had to say considering he traveled all the way from the safety of an American troop occupied town to the front line. Last time the company saw him was back in Bastogne when he stopped by to wish the company a merry Christmas. I had missed him though, being in the aid station and all. Except all he was here to do to document any German activity we encountered so far. He also handed me a letter from my family, which I stashed in my inside pockets in my jacket before leaving CP with Winters. I paid no attention to where he was going as I lit up a smoke, listening to the commotion around me. I don't think I've seen this much fake smiling since we got to the Ardennes Forest. Eventually Winters came back, pointing in the direction he came from and left without saying a word. It took me a while to find what he was pointing at. I even walked in that direction and past a camera crew before seeing Joe looking around confused. He was holding some sort of material, probably from a sling, as I ran towards him. He turned at the last second only to be met by me wrapping my arms around his waist and with all my strength, lifting him off the ground and spinning around before setting him down. 

"That was more of a welcome than I was expecting." he said, pulling me into a proper hug. 

"I would have jumped at you like I did to Bill when he got out of the hospital but I figured I shouldn't with  your arm and all." I said before we parted. I couldn't help but have the biggest smile on my face. "So what are you doing back so soon. You been gone three days." I asked, wrapping an arm around his waist as we walked towards the food station. "Miss me too much?" I questioned with a cheeky grin. 

"You know I did." He answered as we approached the end of the line where Bill was standing. 

"Hey, Joe. Back so soon?" He greeted, shaking Joe's hand as we got in line. 

"I had to make sure you were on top of things." He joked in response. 

"Yeah, I'm on top of  things. Even tied me own boots the other day." He said, going along with the joke. "All by me self, right Gabi?" He asked me. 

"It was the best thing we'd seen since we got here." I said, unclipping my food dish from my belt as the line for food kept moving. Bill pulled Joe towards the group of people, making his presence known. With one mention of him being in the Aid Station, it didn't take long for one of the new guys to ask where he was hit. Joe followed with a snarky remark after asking who the new guy was. Not only did it quiet the replacement, but it gave Muck the queue to tell the new guy all about Easy Company's wounds. 

"There's enough shit flying around you're bound to get dinged at least once." Muck explained, his dish of food in hand. I retreated to leaning against a tree next to George as we ate silently. "Except for Alley, he's a two-timer. Landed on some glass and got peppered by a potato masher." he continued, pointing to Alley before pointing over at Bull who sat silently on the ground. "Bull here got a piece of tank shell burst in Holland and George Luz here has never been hit." Muck said stopping for a second in front of the tree. 

"Takes one to know one, Skip." he retorted. 

"Consider us blessed." Muck added before turning to me. "This doll here has been hit more times than I think I can remember. Almost got strangled by a tree when she landed in Normandy, couple pieces of shrapnel in Carentan along with a wicked fever, something hit her in the back of the neck in Holland and busted her dog tags, after that she was in an aid station twice in just under a month; one time for working herself to death and another for bullet grazes. She's had the worst luck since we got here." he explained as I let a cheeky smile creep out before the two moved on, Muck explaining everyone's wounds from our previous battle. Before long, I'm sure the new guy was more scared of all the other guys hating him for not getting hit yet, than actually getting hit. 

Easy Company and myself finished eating and within another hour we were ordered to move out once more, back to our old position overlooking Foy. We were moved back after Joe was injured and now we were moving back to the same position where he was wounded. It wasn't as long of a walk through the woods as it was when we were arrived in this section of the forest, but it was still a tough one. Everyone was sore from high stepping out of snow holes and often crouching down if one of the points saw something sketchy. Except the area was nothing like we left it: trees were cut in half, limiting the above-head cover we received from the branches, and foxholes were almost completely destroyed in places where martyrs or heavy artillery landed dead-on. What scared me most was that we lost cover when the trees were blown off. God knows how many of 1st Battalion got hit and didn't make it out with the rest of their friends. 

"AGH!" I heard Joe groan from his old foxhole. "You gotta be fuckin' kindin' me!" he complained before saying something to himself that I couldn't quite hear. I walked up behind him, following Bill as he adjusted the rifle on his shoulder. 

"Gabriella, look at this shit! One of those 1st Battalion fuckers took a dump in my foxhole!" he complained, pointing at the mess in his foxhole. 

"I think they shit in everyone's foxhole, Joe." Bill said from in front of us. 

"Probably didn't want to spend too much time above ground." I said, waving to the blown off trees. Joe climbed out of the shitty foxhole and followed Bill and I as we continued closer to the edge of the forest towards Foy. 

I joined the conversation between Lieutenants and Lipton. Dyke was standing next to a tree, not paying attention like usual. The plan was to wait to fortify the cover on the foxholes before staging an attack. Hopefully, we could get this done before the Krauts attacked us. Between cutting low branches of cut-in-half trees and running the cover back and forth between foxholes, Joe and I stayed pretty close together. Bill was covering up his foxhole while the two of us gathered as many branches as we could before Joe stopped to light up a smoke, I continued to hack branches off trees. 

"I can't wait to be outta this fucking cold." I heard Joe complain from behind me as I pried the half-chopped branch from the tree, ripping through my gloves in the process. 

"You're not the only one, bud." I said, peeling my gloves off my hands to reveal rather deep scratches and blood starting to spot in my palms. I wiped them on my trousers, only making it worse somehow. 

"You alright?" Joe asked, walking over to me and seeing my bleeding hands. 

"All this just so Bill could cover his foxhole." I said shaking my head. "Tsk, tsk." I started picking up the branches, Joe still not helping, before hearing a high pitched whistling before something made major impact with the ground a bit away from us. I stood up straight, looking around before more bombs dropped, coming in a line straight for us. 

"Shit!" Joe cursed, grabbing my arm and starting to run away from the blasts. I didn't run right away, but eventually had to considering he was dragged me with him, but something still told me we shouldn't. I planted my feet and started running back towards the blasts, but slightly to the side, now it was my turn to drag Joe with me. We dodged bombs dropping all around us until one landed slightly behind us, flinging us forward and down a small hill. I felt my left shoulder pop and send searing pain through my entire arm and chest as I landed on my side, my helmet gone and eyesight blurring. The blasts kept coming as I rolled onto my back, hoping we wouldn't get hit directly. 

When the blasts stopped, I blinked my eyes and tried to calm down the panic that was rapidly rising. I was feeling so much pain in my arm it felt like I had lost it or was going to lose it. I turned my head slowly to see my arm still attached on the outside but felt it was out of its socket just by trying to move it. There was no way I'd be able to fix something like that on my own, especially when I could barely see straight. I let my head fall back onto the snow covered ground as I swallowed a lump in my throat. I prayed the dislocated shoulder was the least of my problems. 

"Joe." I groaned. My first priority was not babying my arm like a normal person would. It was making sure Joe was ok. "Joe!" I said a little louder after no response. I rolled onto my left, ignoring the pain as my panic came back. We weren't in the cover of a foxhole so anything could have happened. I pushed myself up with my right arm and looked around as my head throbbed some more. Far-sighted vision was blurrier than all hell, but I could make out the silhouette of someone laying on the ground, blood staining the snow around them. "Joe." I groaned as I used my right arm to drag myself over, my left arm practically dragging behind me in an unattached, painful manner. He wasn't moving at all which struck instant panic as I dragged myself closer until my vision wasn't so blurry and I could see the state he was in. The blood I saw earlier was coming from his leg, which had been peppered with shrapnel and sharp chunks of wood from the blasted trees. Blood splattered around both of his legs, but it pooled under his right leg. If I hadn't dragged him the other way, I was sure it'd be gone completely. 

"Joe.....Joe wake up." I groaned, using my good hand to shake his arm a bit as I tried to sit up without disturbing my dislocated shoulder. "Joe....Joe, please wake up, you're okay." I said, moving my hand from his arm to his chest and trying to shake him awake again. The panic of losing him was almost overwhelming as tears welled up in my eyes and a wave of nausea hit me like a train, causing me to fall forward a bit. I rested my forehead in the snow as a couple tears managed to escape. Losing Joe would surely take an overwhelming toll on Bill and I, and I wasn't about to lose my best friend. When I lifted my head once more I saw a small pool of blood that had come from my forehead, ruling out that I must have had a small head wound, but it was also the least of my problems. 

"Joe, wake up! Please...wake up!" I said a little louder, still trying to shake him awake. I could feel my stomach sink as he still didn't move, aside from my futile attempts to shake him awake is if he was only taking a nap. I prayed in my head that he wasn't dead; I don't know how I would react if he was. "Joe....please....don't go." I sobbed, starting to feel myself give up as I leaned forward and rested my head next to my hand on his chest. "Don't do this to me now." I let out another sob as I lost control of the tears that started falling down my cheeks, my heart felt like it was being torn apart. "From Basic to Paris, and to the end of the war." I recited, the feeling of despair overpowered any pain I was feeling from my shoulder. 

"Gabs." I lifted my head at the speed of light to see Joe starting to come back to reality, blood starting to come out of the corner of his mouth a bit. I could tell he was in more pain than I by the changed expression on his face. "My leg...what's wrong with my leg." he croaked as I wiped the tears from my face before he could see. 

"It's just shrapnel, everything is still intact." I told him, my hand still holding onto a fistful of his jacket. "Jesus, you scared the hell outta me." I told him, moving my hand from his jacket to the  side of his face as he tried to sit up, but failed and fell back down onto his back. 

"Forget about you, I scared the hell outta myself." he said, mocking what I said when I came back from the Aid Station the first time. I couldn't help, but crack a grin as the previous panic went away almost completely. But now that the panic was gone, the pain set in once more, reminding me of the harsh reality we were in. 

"We gotta get out of here." Joe groaned as he tried to sit up again, this time making it to a seated position and using a hand to hold himself up. There was no doubt both of us suffered from minor head trauma of sorts from the blast. 

"We're better to stay here until we know it's safe. You can't walk and I can't help you." I told him, motioning to the arm that was practically hanging freely by now. The thought  of it sent another wave of nausea through me, enough to make me fold and rest my head in the snow once more. 

"Shit," I heard Joe curse, no doubt he was still in pain, even if he didn't move his leg. When the wave of nausea went away, I brought my head up once more to see it wasn't Joe that had cursed, but Bill. "Holy shit, what happened to yous?" he asked, kneeling down beside Joe. 

"Got blown up." Joe told him as Bill searched through the pockets of his jacket. "Her shoulders out of place." Joe added as Bill found a med kit, complete with  morphine. He administered the morphine to Joe considering he was probably in more pain with the open leg wounds. 

"Ah, shit. We need Doc." Bill stated, looking around frantically while trying to decided how to help us. "Alright, you two are we too out in the open. We should take cover closer to the hill." He said, moving to help me stand up. "Can you walk?" He asked, wrapping an arm around my waist and another under my good arm, ready to lift me off the ground. 

"I think so." I groaned. Bill took that as an answer before hauling me off the ground and to my feet. I stumbled a bit, but caught my balance and soon was able  to use my good arm to help Bill drag Joe off the ground. Using my good arm, I helped Bill drag Joe over to the bottom of the hill before we set him down again. It would be an understatement to say the yelps and groans of pain coming from Joe would haunt me until the day I die. 

"You two stay put. I'll go find help." He said before scrambling up the hill, as if finding help was a matter of life and death for us. Within a matter of minutes, the ground began to shake once more as more martyr rounds were going off, except these ones weren't near us as much as the last. This time, the panic came back as I worried if Bill found cover or not. 

"How's the arm, Gabs?" Joe asked, his breathing had become shaky. I feared if we didn't get his leg wounds sorted soon it would be too late, and  I wanted nothing more than to start taking the bits of shrapnel  out of his leg and wrap it up in bandages, but I couldn't. I didn't have bandages or that sulfa shit Doc pours onto open wounds. 

"I don't know." I groaned, leaning farther into the hill than I already was. There wasn't much we could to to help each other. Chances are, Joe didn't know how to put an arm back in its place. The blasts stopped for the second time before I heard distant yelling, probably Lipton telling everyone to stay down and in the foxholes. No movement from our end would mean the Germans wouldn't fire any more, unless they were feeling nice enough to let us evacuate any wounded there might be. 

"You think this is a ticket home, Gabs?" Joe asked, obviously scared, just like I was. 

"Who knows. A trip to the hospital seems nice compared to the fucking snow." I mumbled, shifting uncomfortably on the spot. I let my eyes shut as more tears fell, the emotions and pain were too much, Bastogne had been too much, all of this...was too much. Without opening my eyes, I heard Joe shift around to the right of me before grabbing my hand. I opened my eyes to see him giving me a look of sympathy, reassurance and guilt rolled into one. 

"From basic to Paris," He recited, giving my hand a squeeze. 

"To the end of the war." I finished, the corners of my mouth twitching into a slight grin as running footsteps got closer to the top of the hill. We both looking up to see Bill coming back with Doc Roe and Buck. Roe wasted no time in trying to stop the bleeding coming from Joe's leg as Bill and Buck knelt down on either side of him. I looked at Joe and saw the color draining from his face as Roe pulled the first piece of shrapnel out, causing Joe to let out another yelp. 

"Has he had any morphine?" Doc asked, throwing away the shrapnel he pulled out. 

"Only one, it was the only one I had in my med kit." Bill explained, resting a hand on Joe's other leg as if to tell him he was there for him if he needed as Doc pulled out shrapnel piece after shrapnel piece out of Joe's leg before dumping a pack of that white powder shit all over before pulling out a bandage. I looked at Buck to see the color had been drained from his face as well. The two of us had been close, we spent nights in foxholes talking about our families back home and he told me stories about the recreational sports he played in his free time, but the bond we shared was nothing compared to that of the bond he shared with Bill and Joe. If the  three of  us were inseparable, the three of them were almost just as inseparable. Seeing Joe in pain and Bill distressed like this probably sparked something in him that wanted him to just shut down right here and now. 

"Edwards, what's wrong with you?" Doc asked as he finishing wrapping Joe's leg in bandages. 

"Shoulder's out. No morphine." I told him, answering two questions at once, even if he didn't ask about morphine. 

"Alright." He said, moving from Joe to my left side. "Bill, crouch up at the top of the hill, flag down the stretchers when  they get here." Doc ordered, undoing my jacket and shoving his hand underneath, feeling around my shoulder. "This is in fact dislocated. Buck I'll need your help with this." He stated, shifting so he could have my arm straight out, ready to push it back in. "Sit there, hold her shoulder still. We need to get this done right." He said as Buck stumbled to move from my feet to behind me as I sat up. "This is gonna go fast. Edwards, you ready?" Doc asked as Buck held my shoulder in place. I only nodded as Joe squeezed my hand once more. "On three- one....two..." and  on the count of three, Roe had pushed and lifted my arm in one vicious movement, creating another cracking sound to signify my arm was back into place. The procedure happened to quick I didn't even have time to  let out a painful yelp, only squeeze the shit out of Joe's hand. Roe held my arm with one hand while feeling around my shoulder with the other. "All done." he said as I let off Joe's hand a little. Roe moved my arm so it sat in front of me, ready to be put in a sling. "Can you try rotating your arm a bit?" he asked as I slowly began to rotate my arm from the shoulder. Everything was back into place. "Perfect, hold still." he said, pulling out a little syringe thingy of morphine and administering it to my arm, sending relief through my shoulder and into my chest. He pulled out a bundle of material, probably Joe's old sling, and untied the knot that had been tied in it. He brought the material under my forearm and pulled the ends of the fabric above my head and behind my neck, tying it off so it held my arm in such a place where my shoulder would heal where it should be naturally. 

"Hey! Help is here!" Bill called from above us. Roe was the first to run up the hill while Buck stayed back with the two of us. When Roe came back, he had brought one stretcher and a cord of rope. 

"Alright, Toye. We're gonna get you out of here first." Doc told him as they set the rope under the stretcher. Joe let out cries of pain as they lifted him onto the stretcher, no amount of morphine could rid the pain of having your leg torn open by shrapnel. The used the rope to tie Joe to the stretcher as they struggled the carry him up the hill. 

"Buck, I need you to bring Edwards up next." Doc said before following the men carrying Joe on the stretcher. Buck seemed to hesitate before lifting me off the ground and to my feet, similar to what Bill did previously. 

"Buck, you doing okay?" I asked him, quiet enough only he could hear. He looked at me before turning his gaze away quickly. 

"I'm fine." Was all he managed to get out before he  half-carried me up the hill to where another stretcher was waiting. Bill noticed how upset Buck was and guided him to a log to sit down. I watched as Buck hid his face in his hands as Bill patted him on the back before giving him some space and kneeling down beside me. 

"How you doin', champ?" he asked, forcing a positive attitude. I could tell he was worried, Doc was sending Joe and I to the hospital and there was no doubt that Buck would be relieved soon enough. 

"I know you're worried, Bill." I said as I sat up on the stretcher, the men had moved Joe to the ambulance a little ways away and were getting him situated with Doc. "We're going to be fine." I told him as i fought against the dizziness that was screaming at me to lay back down. Now that the bombs stopped dropping and the pain wasn't as bad, I was able to control my emotions and dialed in that I  was probably goin to have a concussion or some sort of whiplash. 

"I know you will be. You two are the strongest people I've ever known, but that still won't stop me from worryin' about you." He admitted as the men came back, George and Lipton following right behind them. 

"You think you can manage it without us for a bit?" I asked him. 

"Don't you get any ideas about going AWOL too soon, little lady. You'll never hear the end of it if you do." he threatened playfully as I was instructed to lay back down before being lifted off the ground. Bill was pulled aside as Lipton asked what happened. Buck remained on the log as George stood in shock next to the path of foot prints in the snow. As we passed, I  grabbed his arm, forcing the men to stop walking. 

"Look out for Bill for me, eh?" I asked him, worried Bill might pull a stunt like the  one he pulled in Normandy with the convoy of Krauts. 

"You got it, Gab. Take care of yourself." he said, giving a few pats on my good arm before the men carrying the stretcher hauled me off to the ambulance, where I was placed next to Joe. Doc had instructed they wait as he ran back to where I'm assuming Buck was. After being shot in Holland, no matter how hard he tried to hide it, Buck was different. And I guess the events of today were not only too much for me, but for him as well. Because when Doc came back, he had dragged Buck with him and Winters was even there to see him off. In the documents, I'm sure they'd have him taken off for a bad case of Trench Foot, leaving out the truth for the sake of Buck's dignity. 

***

The drive to the hospital was a long one. Every bump and turn in the road not only made me scrunch up  my nose in pain and disgust, but Joe as well. Roe did what he could to make us comfortable, but there was really nothing left to do until we could get to the hospital. And when we got there, we were in even more pain now that most of the morphine wore off. Joe was put in a separate area than me where he could get stitched up and bandaged properly. Even with more morphine, I  could still hear how much pain he was in by the hollers and yelps of pain every time the stitching needle went through the skin. 

I must have gotten the better end of the bargain. I had to remove all the layers protecting my torso from the cold so the nurse could tightly wrap a long-ass strand of tightly-woven fabric around my shoulder, down my arm to about mid-bicep and around my chest- all to  hold my shoulder in place so it could  heal faster. When that was done, I struggled to put my layers back on fast enough. By the time I did up my jacket, I was shivering uncontrollably and I was left on a cot with a blanket. My arm was back in the sling which made for an  uncomfortable situation with the knot of the sling being right behind my neck, although I was able to shift it so it wasn't. 

I waited alone for about an hour in that hospital. I couldn't hear Joe anymore and I was surrounded by men from all different companies. This hospital was obviously more of a halfway medical checkpoint. I knew it was so because after being there for  only a couple hours, I was put back into a truck with Joe, who was now either sleeping or just unconscious, and driven to a different hospital, one that wasn't so cold on the inside and had actual lighting. 

Consider I didn't need any real serious attention, I was brought into the hospital first, placed in a small room with fresh, clean hospital clothes and clean OD's placed in a dresser next to the cot I was given. There was another cot on the other side of the dresser with a pair of clean OD's as well. 

A nurse had helped me get comfortable in my cot, sneaking a pack of smokes and a Zippo under my stack of pillows before leaving, closing the door behind her. The door had a glass window in the center of it with blinds on the outside. There was one window on the other side of the second cot where the blinds had been closed partially, only letting in a bit of light. 

I sunk back into the stack of pillows and closed my eyes, hoping for sleep to sneak up on me so I didn't have to sit in this room alone and overthink about anything and everything, or have to remember what had happened in the forest. But even with my eyes closed, I could still see, rather vividly, everything that had happened; the pool of blood around Joe's leg, the color that had been drained from the faces of Joe and Buck, the raw emotion of panic that covered the face of Bill who did all that he could to help us, Doc working hard to stop Joe from bleeding out with the look and feeling of pure determination and calm radiating off of him. All of it was still freshly burned into my memory and the thought of it made my heart ache. I was grateful that I hadn't lost Joe and that Bill left physically unharmed. But I also felt bad for having to leave him in that shit hole for a forest, all by himself. 

I opened my eyes to try and focus on something other than the chills I still felt, even under the blanket, and the thought of our predicament in that forest. I shifted to grab the pack of smokes from under the pillows, pulling one out of the pack and lighting it up before stuffing the items back under my pillow. The smoke burned going in and  it stung going out, but it was something different to focus on than the emotional pain I was feeling. Oh, how I longed to be at home, in my own bed with my family. Instead of watching my daughter grow up, I was almost forced to suffer out through the cold and pain. When I accepted this job, I didn't think it would be this bad. Back in Holland, we were all banking on Operation: Market Garden to be a success so that we could be over the Rhine and into Germany. It the words of a rather forgotten soldier: home by Christmas. 

Not only was it an epic failure, but we missed Christmas, and a couple days into the new year, we were already getting peppered by Kraut artillery, thrown down hills and sent to hospitals while the one's who survived were forced to carry out the attack on Foy. I don't doubt they would attack some time within the next week, if there was any of us left to attack. Who knows if they Germans were going to keep bombing the rest of them or if they were going to lay off enough for them to recuperate. 

"Right in here." A voice said from outside the door before the door itself opened and Joe was rolled in. He had the same hospital clothes on that I did, except his one pant-leg was rolled up to the reveal the copious amounts of bandages that covered the entirety of his leg. His feet had dry socks on them to try and heal the Trench Foot he'd been fighting with. He was moved to the cot with little noise or problems, the OD's left for him were put on top of the dresser, before the hospital crew left. The nurse left a clipboard at the end of the cot, stuffed a pack of smokes and a Zippo under his pillow and left the room, closing the door on her way out. 

Joe didn't move, his eyes were shut and his hands lay on either side of his body as if he were dead, which worried me more than I cared to admit. Any dirt or blood that was on his face had been cleaned off. 

"Joe?" I said quietly. "Joe, you awake?" He stirred a bit, his eyes blinking open and a hand moving to his abdomen. 

"Where am I?" He choked out, lifting his head to look around. 

"We're in a hospital, Joe. They took care of your leg. Everything is okay." I said softly as he looked around the small room they put us in. I snuffed out my smoke in the ashtray on the dresser beside the OD's as he turned his head to look at me. 

"You alright?" he asked as I sat back, holding my arm as it ached from the cold. It was warm in the room for someone like Joe, but I was still freezing. I ruled it out as being from when I had to take off my layers in the first hospital. Being without a shirt or something covering me up must have dropped my body temperature way below normal. 

"Fine, I guess." I mumbled, running a hand over my face in exhaustion. There was not a doubt in my mind that Joe was equally as exhausted as I was, probably a bit more considering the blood loss. I don't think either of us were in the mood for talking because it went silent, aside from the noise of the hospital coming from outside the room. I guess now that I knew Joe was okay, it made it easier to put my mind at ease and fall asleep for the first time since leaving the forest. 

**~End of Chapter 14~**


	15. Alone in Foy

**-**

**Foy, Ardennes Forest, Belgium**

**-**

 

It had only been two days since Gabriella and Joe had been driven off to a hospital, but Bill was still close to losing his mind with worry. He did his duties as platoon Sergeant, but with more angst, more concern and more paranoia. The Germans hadn't let off any more artillery since then and everyone was nervous. Not only had Lieutenant Peacock been let go, but they lost two more well-respected Lieutenants- one to serious injury, another to war. Gabriella was expected to return before Joe, but everyone knew Buck wasn't coming back. And if he made it home, he was sure he would never join the military again, unlike some other members of Easy Company such as Winters or Nixon, or even Lieutenant Spiers of Dog Company. 

Bill knew his friends would return from the hospital and they would fight until they couldn't fight no more. It was almost predicated of the two considering they were the toughest fighters around. Every time they got knocked down, they got right back up. It was shown through the amount of times they were sent to a hospital or aid Station and came back after only a couple days or so. More recently, since they arrived in the Ardennes Forest. By now, everyone knew that if Gabriella hadn't pulled Joe and herself in a different direction, Gabriella would most likely be dead and Joe would be missing his leg from above the knee. The story managed to spread and Gabriella was deemed the savior of her closest friend in combat.

"Hey, Bill. You doin' alright?" George asked the man, keeping his promise to the young Lieutenant currently in the hospital. Bill had been sitting in his foxhole most of yesterday and only today did he find the energy to check on his platoon men and find something to eat. 

"Oh, you know me, Luz. Still worryin' about the two in the hospital." he answered in all honesty. How could someone lie about something like that. 

"Ah, those two are made of steel. They'll be fiiine." The radioman assured, extending emphasis on the 'i'. 

"You gotta remember, Luz: steel still rusts." Bill stated. He wasn't one for sugar-coating anything since he found his two best friends bleeding and torn at the bottom of that hill a couple days prior. The Sergeants remark had left the young radioman speechless, almost for the first time since he joined the Paratroopers. Without any parting words, the two separated; Bill went off to do some Sergeant stuff and George to find something to do besides walk around and blast through a pack of smokes, eventually finding Skip, Malarkey and Penkala standing around talking. 

Telling the impersonational story of Lieutenant Dyke and his remark to Lipton when the first round of artillery attacked the Company. All until Lipton noticed and told him to stop. Dyke had since returned, but remained unnoticed in his foxhole for that last two days. The group of four had parted when George was called to the side by Lipton, thus scattering and rendering the group of friends unprepared for the next round of artillery blasts that came out of nowhere: no whistling, no firing noises. The only way they knew they were being fired at was when the first round hit the ground. 

Skip and Penkala took shelter in the nearest foxhole, Luz had been thrown to the ground and Bill hit a tree. The not so distant memory of his friends' situation a couple days prior had struck Bill like a truck, and hearing Skip and Penkala screaming for Luz seemed to ignite some sort of heroic sense within him as he ran towards the voices. When he got closer, he realized there was a round coming straight for that foxhole. 

"You can't stay here! Move!" He screamed at the men, pointing to the sky before running to Luz. When Skip and Penkala noticed the incoming round, they were out of the foxhole faster than they were in it. Bill had dragged Luz to his feet and the two ran away from the foxhole. When the artillery round hit the foxhole dead-on, Bill and Luz were in the safety of a foxhole with Lipton, but Muck and Penkala were thrown a bit away, sporting minor injuries and concussions. But it was enough. 

The three in the foxhole were more than holding onto each other as the blasts kept coming. With no sense of time, the three held out until one last round fell from the sky, landing in their foxhole, but not exploding. 

_A dud._

It took the trio a minute to realize what had actually happened and when they did, remorse filled them all to the brim.  _They had survived another artillery attack._ When they for sure knew that the attack was done, Bill was the first to react by clambering out of the foxhole and full-on sprinting towards where Muck and Penkala lay groaning in pain in the snow. 

"You guys alright?" Bill asked, knowing very well that they weren't. He knelt beside Muck, who seemed to have it worse. A chunk of wood had lodged itself right in his shoulder. It hadn't gone all the way through, but boy it was close. Penkala had multiple lacerations along both his legs, a piece of shrapnel in his arm and no doubt a concussion. "Jesus Christ, Medic!" Bill screamed, holding a hand to Muck's shoulder wound, his fingers laying on either side of the wood. 

"You got anything to say to Gabriella and Joe. I'll relay the message for ya." Muck said, obviously trying to stay calm by talking about something that didn't relate to the wood in his shoulder. 

"You don't worry about that right now." Bill said, cradling the man's head in his free hand. "Penkala, how you doin' over there?" He called to the other man who was now sitting up, holding his arm in pain. 

"The cold doesn't help with a damn thing!" He exclaimed, obviously angry with his situation. 

"Hey, Gono. You got a smoke?" Muck asked with a shaky voice, similar to that of the voice Joe had spoke to Gabriella with when they were waiting for help. Bill dug through his coat for his pack of smokes and his lighter as Spina ran over, first assessing Penkala's wounds first. Bill had lit a smoke for the wounded man before him and held it out to his mouth. It wasn't long before Lipton found them. 

"Bill, you keeping pressure on that wound?" Spina asked, looking back at the two for a split second before returning attention to Penkala.

"Yeah." Bill answered, lighting a smoke for himself before returning his hand to the wound. War had been bad enough for him, but in the span of two days he had seen his three best friends get carted off to a hospital and was now witnessing two more men being prepared to be evacuated. Who knows what else he would see when they made the attack on Foy. 

Bill had been holding Muck until Penkala was taken out of the area on a stretcher and Spina had moved on to treat Muck, but there was nothing they could do besides continuously hold a bandage around the wood until he arrived in a hospital. They didn't have the hands nor materials to take the wood out of his shoulder without letting him bleed to death before he got to the hospital. And for the second time this week, George had to watch Bill get worn down with worry. Gabriella left the forest knowing George would look out for Bill and so far, he didn't know how which being met with the famous Bill Guarnere rage that few have seen after they tried to figure out the complicated platoon leader. 

Not only did everyone worry about Bill, but now they were worried about Malarkey. He walked away from his two best friends he had left, survived the artillery attack and found his friends severely wounded. What made it worse is he didn't get to see his friends off to the hospital like Bill had. When Malarkey found his friends, Penkala had already been carried to the ambulance and Muck was getting loaded onto the stretcher. Lipton pulled Malarkey away, letting him know what happened and telling him that they would be back before he knew it. Malarkey's best friends in the entire company were Buck, Skip and Penkala. Now all three of them were gone and in hospitals, leaving him alone to live out what ever part of the war they weren't going to see. 

Buck was still at the first CP hospital, ready to get brought back to England as soon as possible so the next day, Lipton had sent Malarkey to see him off, even if was just for an hour. Neither of them would be the same after seeing their friends torn up and bloody. Seeing someone you deeply care about being carried away to a hospital or an Aid Station struck a sort of fear that being in war didn't really bring. It was a different kind of fear. Bill had felt it when Gabriella was in the aid station in Carentan, when Joe was charted off to the aid station for the hit in the arm a little while back. Joe had felt it too when Gabriella was in the aid station in Carentan and it was worse when he was the one who saw her get hit with the three bullets in Bastogne not that long ago. Of course, those wounds never got to heal before she was sent back to the hospital. Gabriella hadn't felt much of it considering she was never there when Bill was taken to the hospital for the leg wound back in France or when Joe got hit in the arm. She was on the front line or busy working in CP at the time of both incidents, but the sleepless nights and worry she felt while they were gone had surely filled the spot. 

Now it seemed to be Malarkey's turn to feel that different kind of fear, both with seeing Skip and Penkala being carried away and when he watched the Jeep drive Buck farther away from the line and from the hospital. This type of fear shook one to the core, leaving them helpless and in a pool of emotions they'd never felt before.

*

After the attacks, Lipton had been going around from man to man, chatting with them, making sure they were doing alright and pulling any concerning men back from the line for a bit so they could regroup. You didn't have to watch your friends die or be carried away on stretchers to be destroyed by the artillery attacks. The raw guilt of being a survivor was enough to tear someone apart and Lipton had wanted to make sure that didn't happen to too many of the men. It was safe to say these men were strong, and wouldn't let fear become their life until it got too much. 

Lipton made his rounds, patting men on the shoulder, giving them words of encouragement in any way he could. He stopped on the edge of the forest next to Liebgott to check on the movements of the Krauts in the town below. The were frantically running around, gathering and organizing their troops and weapons. They had laid three artillery attacks on the American troops and were panicky how they hadn't done anything in return. 

Lipton was confident of the men to fulfill their duties during the attack, but the CO was another story. Dyke hadn't been the same since the first round of artillery came down on Easy Company, but for all the wrong reasons. He didn't have friends in the company who were wounded or killed. He was only scared of himself dying. He was a selfish leader like that and often times Lipton fell victim to Dyke trying to act like a good leader after doing something cowardly. 

The night before the attack on Foy, Lipton went to Winters, voicing his confidence in the men, but his concerns about Dyke. The good news was, Easy Company wasn't the only company making the attack on Foy. 3rd Battalion was to be on the East flank as a distraction to get Easy through the 1/8 of a mile in between the treeline and the town itself. Dog Company was on stand-by in the treeline, ready to assist in any way possible, like in the case Dyke froze up and made bad calls. Colonel Sink was going to  be there too, watching from the treeline with Winters and Nixon. 

*

By the time morning rolled around, everyone was ready. Weapons and ammo were collected and ready to go. Anything else was left behind in the foxholes until they were to return. Winters had ordered Bill stay behind, watch from the treeline or stay back in his foxhole. Winters didn't want him to run to the aid of a wounded man after he had seen Gabriella, Joe, Skip and Penkala get hit. Their blood was still dried to his hands and what worried Winters was that Bill might turn to recklessness after the events that spanned the last week or so. Bill wasn't suppose to be helping treat wounded men, it wasn't his job. He wasn't a medic, he was a fighter, and a damn good one. Who knows what would have happened to him if Gabriella hadn't been there with Joe. Joe would have been hit, and Bill probably would have run to his aid. Chances are it would leave Gabriella alone in Foy instead of Bill, which made him glad it wasn't. 

When the attack on Foy was set to play, Bill sat in the circle of CO's and Colonel Sink, watching as the men were deployed and shot to the ground before they could even make it to the first set of hay bales to use for cover. By the time the platoons made it to the town, Dyke had lost track of first platoon and was standing out in the open as an easy target, leaving George no choice but to stay with him as he called out for first platoon. 

"Jesus Christ." Bill swore under his breath and shaking his head. He seemed to be the only person who openly voiced his disappointment in Dyke. Sink had only nodded like he was making notes for later. Winters was yelling at the company, although it was impossible that they could hear him over the gunfire in the town. Eventually, Luz managed to pull Dyke to cover as he rang for Foley, who was leading first platoon. It was then, Foley and Martin ordered the men to find cover before running out of their cover towards where Luz and Dyke had found cover and by then, more platoon leaders had gathered as Dyke yelled for everyone to fall back. 

Winters had been trying to get Dyke on the radio, but Dyke hadn't been listening to Luz at all as he told Foley to take First Platoon to attack the village from the rear all by themselves, claiming that the rest would provide suppressing fire. And from the top of the hill, the crew watched as First Platoon began to move out. But by the time Foley reached his men, the Germans knew of every position, leaving the men stuck behind any stable structures they could find. Any suppressing fire was rendered futile. As men were urged to move forward, more were shot down and killed, Perconte being the lucky one and only being shot in the ass. The man had enough problems already with being short and all, ad getting shot in the rear-end didn't help the case either. 

Eventually, Winters was fed up with Dyke and regretted not relieving him sooner. His attempts to run out into the field and relieve him personally had been cut short by Sink, who at first yelling at him sternly, but angrily before recognizing Winters' love for this company. Winters brushed past his superior officer like he was a replaceable Private. Instead of listening to Sink's words of reassurance, Winters summoned Spiers and sent him to relieve Dyke and carry out the attack as if he was a leader of Easy Company instead of Dog Company. 

Spiers wasted no time in running down the ridge, into the open. He ran straight through heavy gun fire and martyr blasts before finally reaching Dyke, who had long gone unresponsive and was shivering uncontrollably. Dyke probably didn't know Spiers was taking over, even if he told it to him. He was quick to give the rightful orders of placing martyrs and machine guns onto the position of the Kraut sniper that was holding First Platoon in place. Now that the sniper was covered, 2nd and 3rd Platoons were able to keep moving forward into the village of Foy, not stopping until they found cover and pushed the Germans towards I Company. The only problem, the German close to slipping through out of the town if I Company didn't know Easy was in as well. There were so many gaps in surrounding the enemy that they were bound to escape. 

The main goal was to hook up with I company some how. That goal was executed perfectly as Lipton watched Spiers run through German gunfire and artillery before disappearing behind a stone wall and a cloud of smoke and dust. The fighting continued around him, but Lipton was more concerned  with where Spiers went. 

The outstanding thing about Spiers' commitment that when he hooked up with I Company, he ran all the way back, securing the victory over the town of Foy as well as over one hundred German prisoners. The men were celebrating on top of a German tank by the end of the fighting, singing an old working song. 

Bill had been following Winters and Sink around ever since, retrieving numbers and body counts. That was until they weren't thorough enough with the clearing of buildings and left one lone Kraut sniper, which unfolded all sorts of hell as a few men were shot down, killed instantly. Lipton was the first to spot where the sniper was. He gave Shift Powers the honor of sharp-shooting the sniper when he saw it as Lipton ran out into the open, drawing the fire of the said sniper, giving Shifty the advantage. With two shots let off, Shifty was able to kill the Kraut sniper and everyone else was left to collect the dead bodies of their fallen brothers after giving off a few cheers and hollers for Shifty. 

Only a few had died, if not for Shifty Powers, more would have been killed by the hands of that sniper. After the sniper had been killed, E Company was more thorough in their sweep of the buildings left standing, saving the looting of the dead Germans for later. The wounded were evacuated and seeing those men, especially Perconte- a fellow Italian to Bill-, being carried away from the wreckage that was Foy had brought back the graphic images of seeing Gabriella and Joe being taken away. Bill had done what he could to stop himself from remembering, but just like Gabriella, every time he closed his eyes, they were still there. Both were equally as haunted, both wanted nothing more than to forget. 

*

When Foy was evacuated, the men of Easy Company believed they were going to be sent back to Mourmelon for a much needed break. Boy were they wrong. Regiment not only took them out of Foy, but sent them to Noville, where they pushed out the Germans, captured those who surrendered and rested for a night before being pulled out of that town. By then, the belief that they were or weren't being sent back to Mourmelon was split up 50/50. What brought much of the company morale down was when they were taken out of Noville and sent to take Rachamps, another German-occupied town that would need to be flushed out. 

On a good day, Bill would be willing to keep taking town after town. But after hearing nothing on the conditions of his friends in the hospital, he grew weary of fighting through the exhausting worry that haunted him every waking hour of the day. And yet, like the good soldier he is, he kept fighting. He followed the company into taking Noville, and then on to take Rachamps. Only then, did he finally get news on his friends when a letter arrived shortly after they finished sweeping and securing the town. 

**'Bill Guarnere,**

 

**As a war correspondent stationed in the hospital, I write to you on behalf of one Lieutenant Gabriella Edwards and one Staff Sergeant Joseph Toye. They wish to inform you that they are both doing well in their recovery and wish you the best of luck as you continue your advance with the rest of Easy Company.**

**I would also wish to inform you that one Warren Muck and one Alex Penkala had arrived at the hospital in which the Lieutenant and Sergeant are currently being held. They are also doing well in their recovery and would like thank you for saving their lives during the second barrage on January 3rd, 1945.**

**As a war correspondent, I thank you, on behalf of myself and your country, for serving your time in the war.**

**I wish you the best of luck, Sergeant Guarnere.**

 

**Signed,**

 

**J.M.W, war correspondent. '**

The letter had not only boosted the morale of Bill, but Malarkey as well. Hearing that his friends weren't separated in the hospitals and that they were doing fine had been more than a relief for the two as they were stationed in a convent inside Rachamps. That night had been the first night since his teenage years Bill had prayed. Many of the men he trained with in Toccoa were not there that night. They weren't there to celebrate the small victories and they weren't there to hear the convent choir sing their hymns until the men feel asleep on the pews. That night, Bill had prayed that Gabriella and Joe didn't have any trouble in the hospital. He prayed that his mother was doing well after losing Henry and not hearing anything from her youngest son. He prayed that the men moved on into the afterlife in peace and that their families rest easy knowing their sons were not alone when they died, but with the brothers they had trained and served with since 1942. 

Unknowingly to Bill, Gabriella had also prayed that night. She was informed by the nurse that Muck and Penkala had arrived at the hospital and were still in the critical condition ward. But she hadn't heard anything from Bill or even about Bill. She didn't know if he had been injured since she was taken to the hospital and she surely didn't know if he had been killed. These thoughts plagued her with paranoia and grief. She knew her time in the hospital was limited and her plans to go AWOL were sound. She didn't feel too bad about leaving Joe behind in the hospital because she knew he would be safe until he returned to not only her, but the company as well. She had made plans with the nurse that Muck and Penkala- upon their clearance from the Critical Condition Ward- were to be placed in the same room as Joe in place of herself. 

Regiment had collected her bag and her rifle from her foxhole shortly after the second barrage the day she was taken off the line. They were currently sitting quietly under her bed, hidden from Joe's view by the dresser. She had also long changed from the hospital uniforms to her clean OD's which were sure to stick out like a sore thumb shall she return to her beloved company. 

The night before her leave, she stood at the window beside Joe's hospital cot. The pane had been opened slightly to let in cool air and let out the smoke of her cigarette. Her chills had since left and all she had now was a tightly wrapped shoulder. The sling was gone by now as well as the major pain. The occasional ache when she moved wrong or moved too much had bothered her from time to time, but other than that, she was fit for duty once more. About half way through her smoke, she looked over from the window and over at Joe, who was sleeping peacefully and painlessly after what seemed like years of sleepless nights filled with agonizing pain every time he moved. His case of Trench Foot was nearly gone and his leg wounds were healing nicely. 

During their time here, Gabriella was the only one who was fit to leave her cot so they would often spend the day sleeping or playing card game after boredom-busting card game. It wasn't hard to see, but the two adored their company and each other. Even the nurse noticed it a couple times and brought it up to the young female warrior when she took Gabriella on supervised visits to see Muck and Penkala after they first arrived. She  couldn't deny it, nor could she identify it, but she felt something for the man. When she first met him, he was the quiet guy from Reading, Pennsylvania. After training for just over a month, the once quiet guy would talk her ears off as they swapped stories of their home towns. Gabriella hadn't minded at the time considering her only concern was being liked by the men she was supposed to go into battle with. Her ever-growing friendship with Joe had gone unnoticed by the men while her friendship with Bill seemed more open to the public, especially after the night of the party. 

Now, it seemed as if Joe and Gabriella had known each other their whole lives. And yet Gabriella was still unable to identify the feelings she had. They were unlike any feelings she ever had with her dearly departed ex-husband. Unlike her previous relationship, Gabriella and Joe shared similar suffering, experiences and pain, as well as happiness, lasting memories and love. There was no doubt Joe had felt the same, except he was entirely clueless to what he was feeling. Yes, Gabriella had saved his life a time or two and the two worked together like nothing anybody had ever seen before, but their relationship seemed to be more than just sharing the same military experiences. 

Joe couldn't lie to himself anymore. He was skeptical of Gabriella being in the paratroopers when he first saw her walking around camp. He also couldn't lie that he was in fact a bit shy when it came to talking to the new girl for the first time, hence the reason he dragged Bill, Luz and Perconte into talking to her as well. After thinking about in during his time in the hospital with her, it was clear to him that he had completely fallen for the girl. And it was all thanks to fucking war. How ironic.

 

**~End of Chapter 15~**


	16. Going AWOL to Hagenau

**-**

**At the Hospital**

**-**

"What's got you up so early?" Joe asked the girl standing nervously in the window. She held her smoke loosely between her two fingers while the rest of her hand was clenching so tightly, it felt like  her cracked, dry skin was about  to tear away from her hand any second now. 

"Nothing." she mumbled before bringing the half burnt out cigarette to her lips for another inhale. 

"Really, because you've been standing in that window since the moment you rolled out of bed." he said, shuffling the cards in front of him before looking up the girl fondly. "You wanna tell me what's going on or do I have to get the nurse to tell me once you disappear." His final statement had cut through her like a sword. She hadn't told him she was going AWOL. Every time she thought about it, she felt more compelled to stay in the hospital with him until both of them could go AWOL, but knowing the difference in their conditions, she was bound to get released sooner than he was. It was just her shoulder after all. 

"I'm bound to get released before you, Joe." she said, letting the smoke out of her lungs before turning to the man in the cot. "It's better to go now before the company gets too far away and I can't catch up. " she told him, snuffing out her smoke and setting it in the small ash tray on the window sill. 

"Yeah, I know." he said sadly, looking down at the cards in his hands. "I know how much you want to go back because you know I'll be safe here and you won't have to worry about me." he stated. Gabriella had spoken with the nurse a couple times when she thought Joe was sleeping. In reality, he heard everything. "You're more willing to die fighting than most of the men in that company." he told her with a grin. "I don't know if I should adore that about you or call you crazy." he chuckled, shoving the cards back into the paper box they came in. 

"Why not both." she joked before sitting down on the side of the cot, careful to move his bandaged leg. 

"Yeah, both is good." he chuckled as he leaned over to set the pack of cards on he dresser before sitting back up and facing the woman in front of him. "You know, I'm gonna miss you when you leave me here, all on my lonesome." he told her, but not in a quilt tripping kind of way. 

"You won't be alone for very long." she told him, knowing he was unaware of the plan she made. "I made a plan with the nurse. When Skip and Penk get out of critical care, they'll be wheeled up here and you three get some good ol' Toccoa company." she told him proudly. "I would never go AWOL if it meant I was leaving you behind completely alone." she added, taking his hand in hers. "If Skip and Penk weren't here, I would no doubt stay until they kicked me out of here." When she finished talking, she couldn't help but crack a small grin, to which Joe had matched. 

"You really do spoil us don't you." he said, mocking Bill's words from the hotel in Paris and causing her to laugh a bit. 

"Just looking out for my own." she stated. She didn't think many of the things that had happened would actually happen when she first accept the offer to join the Airborne. But one thing that stood out the most was she didn't think she would end up with a family like this, or end up knowing someone as amazing as Joe. She trusted him with her life and she was sure he felt the same, at least about trusting her with his life. Without thinking, Joe brought his hand up to move a piece of loose hair out of her face. She has had mud, blood and so many other things covering her face that a piece of hair fallen out of place hardly fazed her anymore. And in a brief moment, his hand held the side of her face, similar to how her late husband had the night he proposed they get married as soon as they could. Gabriella hadn't hesitated to make the first move. Similar to the feelings, her kiss with Joe had been nothing like any kiss she had with her previous beau. And when they parted, Gabriella noticed Joe was more upset than he was before the kiss. 

"You best be there when I get out  of here, you hear? I don't want to get out of this fucking hospital to find out you were sent back, or worse." he told her in a clear state of distress. Before, he would have stayed quiet about it. But now that feelings were out in the open, he was scared for her to leave. Gabriella hadn't said anything in response, only gave one more kiss before pulling him in for a hug. 

"Once you get healed up and out of this hospital, we'll finish this war together." She whispered to him as she felt his white-knuckle grip on the back of her jacket. She didn't know going AWOL in a situation like this would be so hard on either of them. It was probably because both of them had just non-verbally expressed their feelings for each other and she was going to carry out the plan of leaving within the next 10 minutes or so. When they parted from the hug, it was only because the nurse had knocked on the door, ready to inform her that a vehicle had just arrived with men and would be heading to Hagenau once they loaded the wounded off. The nurse made her statement and left, leaving the two alone one more. 

Gabriella wasted no time in dragging her bag and her rifle out from under the cot. She dug the still bloodied helmet out of the bag and placed it on her head before throwing the bag over her shoulder and stopping next to Joe's cot. 

"I'll see you soon, okay?" she told him with a forced smile. After their moment, she didn't want to leave anymore but she knew her plans couldn't be postponed any longer. In a final act of goodbye, she planted a kiss on the top of his head and went for the door. 

"Hey, be safe out there." he said, bidding her a temporary farewell. Gabriella only nodded and smiled before leaving the small shared room. The walk through the hospital was one she knew well and she was out the front door in no time. She approached the truck the nurse had mentioned as they unloaded the final wounded man. 

"Can you get me back to Easy Company?" she asked the driver as he went to round the back end of the  truck. He must have recognized her because he gave her an appreciating smile. 

"Sure thing, Lieutenant." he answered, offering a hand  to help her into the back  of the truck before closing the gate. She was the only person in the blood stained rust-bucket as the driver and the assistant sat in the cab. As the truck lunged forward, she took one look up  at the second story window she would look out every day. Except when she did, she saw Joe standing for the first time since they were hit. It broke her heart to leave him this way, especially  after finding out he felt the same about her and she did about him. If they made it through the war, she was sure the would have a happy life together. 

***

 **February 9th, 1945  
** **Hagenau, France**

***

As Easy Company arrived in the town of Hagenau, a town separated by a wide river, the tired and hungry men either clambered out of the back of the trucks early or stayed put until they stopped moving completely. No one wanted to walk, no one wanted to move. All they wanted was to go back to Mourmelon and sleep. They figured that, being back in France would lead to eventual relief of being taken off the line and trucked back to Mourmelon after they completed what they needed to in Hagenau. They were also  grateful for being taken out of Belgium entirely, although the entire country of France looked pretty similar to Belgium, with the snow and empty war-zones.  When they arrived in Hagenau, it looked almost exactly like Foy, and Noville, and Rachamps. Snow, mud and blood covered the ground and even parts of the buildings. 

What surprised Gabriella the most is the face of David Webster, who had been wounded in the leg during the Battle of the Crossroads. It was clear to him that the men he left behind when he went to the hospital were not the same after Bastogne. Gabriella watched as he was seemingly rejected by his once friends. He had been in the hospital for far too long for something so minor. Everyone knew he obviously didn't have the guts to go AWOL. He found his former squad in one of the trucks that were moving at a walking pace. Lieutenant Foley, Cobb, Martin and Bull Randleman were nonetheless annoyed by Websters positive attitude. After it seemed he was redirected to a different truck, Gabriella made her approach, save him some dignity. 

"David Webster, back so soon." she said sarcastically, earning his attention. 

"Sergeant Edwards. You coming back from the hospital too?" he asked, stopping on the spot to let her catch up. 

"It's Lieutenant Edwards now and yes, just went AWOL." she informed him, receiving a surprised look. 

"Lieutenant, Congratulations."  he said as they started following the trucks together. "Say, where is everybody? Have I really been gone that long?" he asked with almost a sadden tone. Gabriella took a second to look down at the ground. 

"Web, after you left for the hospital, shit went so far down hill even Toccoa men were losin' it." she started, trying to remember all that they had lost. "Smokey Gordon is paralyzed, Hoob shot himself in the leg after finding a Luger, Joe and I were in the hospital after the first barrage on January 3rd, Muck and Penkala followed shortly after the second barrage the same day, Buck got taken off the line." she told him as he listened intently. "We went into Bastogne with 121 men and officers plus 24 replacements. Apparently they left with something close to 63." she finished as they approached second platoons truck, and to Gabriella's dismay, Bill wasn't there like he should have been. 

"Shit." Was all he seemed to be able to say as the truck stopped and the men unloaded. Liebgott was the first to notice. 

"Well shit, if it ain't Gabriella, fresh outta the hospital." he said with a cheeky grin as he approached the Lieutenant. 

"How's things going, Lieb? Still a cocky bastard?" she joked as they shook hands. Both of them  had gained a lot of respect for each other since training, especially after she was the first to tend to Lieb's neck wound after the crossroads attack. 

"You know I can't let a little cold take away that trait of mine." he joked right  back before noticing Webster. "I see you dragged someone else out of the hospital." he said less happily as he eyed up Webster's new, clean OD's. "Thanks for helping in Bastogne, Web." he rebuked, turning away from the man, but motioning for the Lieutenant to follow. "Bill will be happy to see you. He's been hanging more around Winters and Spiers." he told her as the group started to walk away from the trucks, bags in hand. 

"I'll catch up, Lieb." she said before turning to face Webster, who was visibly hurt. "Why didn't you get out sooner?" she asked him as they kept walking. 

"Well, there was rehabilitation and the replacement depot. I didn't want to come back too soon without risking the company." he admitted. Webster had always been very careful with his decisions. He was a good soldier, but always seemed to miss out on the important things. Harvard couldn't teach that kind of shit. "Did many of you guys go AWOL?" he inquired. 

"I did, Gaurnere did back in Mourmelon, Popeye managed to get out before we jumped into Holland." she listed. "Hell, even Joe Toye was out of the hospital after three days." she chuckled, remembering the day he came back. 

"Where is Gaurnere and Toye anyway? You three were supposed to be inseparable." he chuckled, a smile forming on his face as well as hers.

"Bill should be here. Joe's in the hospital still. Left him there with Skip and Penkala." she answered as they reached a building, Lieb shortly ahead and no doubt had he been listening to everything they said. 

"I'm guessing this is CP, you might be able to get stationed with a platoon if you wait here." Liebgott told Webster, still in annoyance of his sudden presence. 

"What do you mean Spiers? Isn't he with Dog Company?" Gabriella questioned. When she had left, Spiers was a leader for D Company. She hadn't been gone that long to miss anything drastic. 

"After we lost you to the hospital and Buck was taken out of commission, Easy needed a new leader so they took Spiers from Dog and gave him to us." Lieb answered, holding the door open for the Lieutenant, but entering the CP building before Web. Inside, Lipton was shivering on a couch holding a cup of coffee in his dry hands as Luz placed a blanket over him. 

"Sergeant Lipton, everything alright?" Web asked, earning both of their attention. 

"He's fine. Battling a case of pneumonia, but he'll be fine. See, he's got coffee, a blanket, snug as a bug." Luz answered for him, a smoke hanging out of the corner of his mouth. "What concerns me more is you here, Gab." he added with a smile, walking over to her. 

"Trust me, I spent more time healing my shoulder just trying to find you guys than I did in the hospital. I'm practically good as new." she told him as he pulled her in for a hug. 

"I don't doubt you are. Bill should be here soon if that's who you were looking for." he told her as they parted. Lieb was long gone by now, probably to find the rest of 2nd Platoon. 

"I'm looking for answers more than specific people right now." she said as Lipton and Webster exchanged a few words before another new guy walked in. 

"Is this the CP for Easy Company?" the new guy asked, turning the  heads of everybody. 

"Depends, who the fuck are you?" Gabriella questioned in a rather harsh tone, shocking not only the new guy but George as well. 

"Lieutenant Jones, looking for Captain Spiers."  _Jesus, they give us Spiers and make him a Captain. He must have done something right._ Gabriella eyed the man up and down. She made a rough estimate that  he had never even shaved and had probably not seen combat. 

"Lieutenant Edwards, turns out we're looking for the same guy." she said, shaking the mans hand. 

"A female Lieutenant? I didn't expect that." Jones stated, earning a glare from Gabriella. Ever since many of her questions went unanswered, her attitude had gone sour to anyone she didn't know before she left for the hospital. 

"Neither did I." she said, turning away from the man. "You're not that special." she finished and turned to see George chuckling to himself while sorting papers. "I see you took my job of helping out at CP." she joked, leaning against the bar that was being used to house boxes of papers and other supplies that weren't liquor. 

"What can I say: you inspire me." he joked, placing a stack of papers next to her arm. She read the first few words on the first page and once she ruled out that they weren't for her to sign, she turned a cold shoulder to them. It didn't take long for Jones to drop his bag next to a chair and stand at attention next to it. No one else was taking that sort of posture if they didn't need to. 

"So how's good ol' Toye doing down at the hospital?" George asked, silently  offering Gabriella a smoke. 

"Last time I saw him he was cracking jokes begging me not to leave him." she joked, accepting the smoke. She had left her pack with Joe before she left, she planned to steal some from Bill if she needed. 

"And Muck and Penkala?" George asked again. 

"Were set to be moved to the room Joe was in once they got out of critical care. The last thing I wanted was for them to be separated in the hospital." she answered before Captain Spiers walked in the room, an old fashioned clock in his arm and a smoke hanging out of his mouth. No one could get a word in otherwise before he was telling Lipton to go sack up in the back on one of the  beds. 

"Captain Spiers, there's some people here to see you." George notified, taking yet another stack of papers from the Captain.

"Gabriella Edwards, good to have you back." Spiers greeted her first considering he knew her. 

"Good to be back sir." she returned, shaking his hand. "You  know, when I left you were still with Dog Company." she stated, hoping to get some answers. 

"Yeah, well when Dyke fucked up the attack on Foy, Winters sent me out to finish the job. I guess Colonel Sink really liked that because they gave me to Easy." he explained. 

"Dyke's gone?" she questioned, starting to get excited. 

"Forever." he answered, moving around some items on the table next to the bar. 

"It's about fucking time!" she exclaimed cheerfully, slamming a fist on the bar. 

"Bastard almost got me killed, can you believe that?" George brought up as he lifted  a crate off the ground and set it on the table next to a stack of papers. 

"Alright, listen up." Gabriella turned to the French Double doors as Winters and Nixon walked in, at first ignoring the presence of her, Webster and Lieutenant Jones. "Regiment wants a patrol across the river for prisoners. Spiers you're leading." 

"Yes, sir." 

"You get 15 men, choose carefully. We want this as sound proof as it can be." Winters continued before Nixon spoke up. 

"This one comes directly from Sink so it's not my idea." he added. Winters said a few things to Spiers as Nixon noticed the new Lieutenant. "Who are you?" he asked, more friendly than Gabriella had. 

"Lieutenant Jones, sir." the man answered in a pencil-straight posture. 

"Right, our west pointer." Nixon chuckled. "When'd you graduate?" 

"June 6th, sir." it was obvious that the man was nervous about something. 

"Of last year?" Nixon question, his eyebrows raising in shock. 

"D-day, sir." Jones answered quietly, as if he was ashamed of it. 

"Alright, don't get hurt." Nixon laughed before turning to Gabriella. "Back for more, huh?" he greeted, shaking her hand. 

"I couldn't leave Bill to have all the fun." she smiled as their hands parted. "Say, where is Bill anyway?" she asked, secretly hoping she wouldn't be given any bad news. 

"He should be with 2nd platoon. Him and Malarkey are leading it now. We figured both of them should work together after the barrages back in January." Nixon explained as Gabriella grinned. 

"That's great. I'll have to find them later I got a letter for Malarkey." she said as Winters approached. 

"Lieutenant Edwards, how's the shoulder?" he asked, shaking her hand as well. 

"I spent more time healing just trying to find you guys than I ever did in a hospital." she answered. 

"That's good. 2nd platoon is weakest right now after losing the four of you so I'll put in in there. We're making Malarkey a Lieutenant soon so I'll need you there more as an observer, if that's alright." he informed her. 

"Anything to get back to my buddies, sir." she told him with a smile. 

"Great, they should be in one of the buildings just down the street. Ask around, you should be able to find them quite easily." Winters said, giving a salute to which Gabriella returned before walking away with Nixon. Picking up her bag,  she placed her helmet on her head and sent a wave to George. 

"I'll see ya later, Luz." she bid farewell as she headed for the door. 

"Be safe!" he called after her. The walk down the street was more about staying out of eyesight of the Germans across the river. She was able to move quick since she didn't have anyone to worry about following her. That was until she looked back and saw Webster and Jones following, but about 20  yards away. 

"2nd platoon sure is getting a bunch of new faces." she mumbled to herself before continuing her trek to the build, dodging vehicles and moving men, some of which gave her a few words of welcome which boosted her mood a bunch. When she reached the door to the building, her nerves were going haywire, for what reason she didn't know. It wasn't like Joe was in there waiting to see her. If it was, she'd surely been crying. 

When she entered the building a few martyrs dropped outside- probably because the Germans spotted Webster and Jones-, and there was no one on the main floor but she heard voices coming from upstairs which gave her the hint that they were probably getting situated with bunks. Stepping quietly, she made her way up the  stairs before Webster and Jones made it through the door. To her surprise, 2nd platoon consisted of no more than 10 men. 

"Look who decided to show up." Babe greeted in a blank tone. 

"You sound so excited to see me." she smiled as the eyes in the room turned to her. 

"Told you guys she was back." Lieb scoffed from the top of one of the bunks. She smiled as she made her way into the room towards Malarkey who was standing next to the window. 

"Hey, Malark. I got something or you." she told him, opening her jacket and pulling out a letter from one of the inside pockets. "It's from Skip and Penkala, back at the hospital." she told him softly, holding the envelope out to the man. When he turned to face her, she was struck with immense feeling of sadness and pity. He  had dark circles under his eyes much like the ones she had when Dyke worked her to death. He didn't have his usual grin on his lips and instead wore a frown, except for when he saw the envelope. 

"Thanks, Gab. Welcome back." he said, taking the envelope with one hand and patting her on the good shoulder with another. 

"How's Toye doing? I'm surprised you two didn't go AWOL together." Ramirez stated with a chuckle. 

"He's doin' fine. Leg's healing up nice and should be back before we know it." she answered, stepping away from Malarkey who was now engrossed in the letter that was hand written by Muck. 

"Great." Lieb scoffed. "Then the three of you will be together once again and the Krauts will be so scared of you that we won't get any of the action." he joked, pulling a smoke out of his pocket. 

"Where is Bill, anyway? I didn't find him at the CP and Winters said he'd be here." she asked. 

"I think he heard you were back and is probably running around like a chicken with its head chopped off." McClung joked as Webster and Jones finally made it up the stairs. 

"Sounds like Guarnere." Ramirez stated, leaning back against the bunk post as he sprawled out on the bottom bunk. 

"What sounds like me?" Gabriella snapped her head up just in time to see Bill walk through the doorway, stopping beside Lieb and Webster, not seeing the Lieutenant standing next to the table. "Holy shit, Webster. Is that you? We thought we lost you to the hospital or something." Bill joked around with the Harvard Private. 

"Yeah, I got out a little late, but Lieutenant Edwards gave me the run down of everything I missed." he told him, pointing to the woman who was now leaning against the table, arms crossed over her chest. The emotions of surprise and joy crossed Bill's tired face as he looked at his friend for the first time in a month. 

"Well, shit. The trouble returns." he said, stepping past the men at the bunks. 

"I couldn't let you have all the fun. Besides it was getting boring in the hospital without you there to give me hell." she said, pulling him into a hug. By now, Malarkey and Jones were talking about the area and the German activity while the rest of the men were interrogating Webster about the up coming patrol. 

"So when exactly did you get out?" Bill asked as they parted from their hug. 

"About two weeks after I got there. I spent more time trying to find you guys than I did in the hospital." she chuckled. 

"Shoulder doin' alright?" he  questioned, making sure his friend was fully capable of fighting again. He wasn't about to let her go back to the front line if she didn't  have full movement of her shoulder joint. 

"About 90% range of motion. I got in wrapped up pretty good." she told him, pulling part of her jacket and shirt away from her shoulder to reveal fabric tightly wrapped around her shoulder, partway down her arm and across her chest. "Turns out it wasn't as bad as we all thought." she finished, giving a toothy grin. 

"I'd say your as good as new. How's Joe doing?" 

"Legs healing up nice. When we first got there the doctors put us in a little room separate from the rest of the hospital. When I left I made sure that Muck and Penkala were moved there once they got out of critical care. I think Penkala would have gotten there first, Muck's sound seemed pretty bad." she explained, her tone saddening at the mention of her wounded friends. 

"Yeah, I would know, I was there. Piece of wood almost went all the way through his damn chest." He mentioned, searching through his pockets for his pack of smokes. Gabriella noticed the topic was a bit touchy with him by the look that crossed his face as he lit  up a smoke. 

"How have you been? Since we left and all." she asked softly, looking up at her friend with worry. Bill didn't answer right away, which worried her. She could see the pain and horror in his eyes.

"I ain't gonna lie to you, Gabi, but it was rough." he said quietly, so that anyone else in the room couldn't hear. "Every time I closed my eyes I saw you and Joe laying at the bottom of that hill covered in blood and torn apart. Some days it was seeing you two being carted off on stretchers that got to me." he admitted.  

"Yeah, I know how that feels. Same shit happened to me." she mumbled, looking down at the ground. Quiet whispering between Lieb and Web was heard and Gabriella noticed the men were trying to get Web to spill about the patrol and the three men in the room that were to be on the patrol. Winters wanted no mistakes, experienced officers and soldiers to cross the river and bring back POW's for questioning. 

"Men, listen up." Malarkey said loudly after speaking with Jones. "CP wants a patrol set for tonight at 0100 to bring back some prisoners. So far they want Mc-"

"We know. Web told us." McClung had cut Malarkey's statement short, there was no need to waste his breath. Malarkey had only nodded before the phone on the table behind him rang. He nodded along until the conversation was done and he hung up the phone. 

"Good news, rations were just delivered including winter shoe packs."  he started, earning a snarky remark from Lieb, who was none too pleased with the delayed delivery of supplies that they could have used months ago. "Also, hot showers." Malarkey added, earning cheers from the men in the room. He opened his mouth to say  something more before the whistling of a martyr falling alerted everyone and sent them all hurtling down the stairs of the building. Before Hagenau, Bill would have been the one to grab Gabriella's arm and drag her to safety. This time, she wasn't taking any chances in potentially losing another friend, leading to her grabbing Bill by the jacket and sprinting down the stairs of the building with the rest of the men until they reached the basement and took cover on the ground or under tables. Malarkey was the last to reach the cover of the basement and when he did, the blasts were done, leaving everyone to laugh out the situation. Bill and Gabriella had landed on the floor, holding onto each other so tight like it was the end of the world. 

"Alright, you guys, Hot showers, go." Malarkey ushered them out of the basement and onto the street. The showers were in sight, but as the first person went to move for the showers, a gun shot had gone off. Lieutenant Jones was the only one who ducked. The crew exchanged glances before running to where the gunshot was, all except Bill and Gabriella. 

"At this point, it's better not to look." Bill said quietly, turning his back to the commotion. Gabriella hated to admit it, but she agreed with him. They were bound to find out sooner or later what had happened, they didn't need to see it up close.

"Yeah, you're right." she mumbled as they started walking towards where the shower tents were set up. She had cleaned up before she left the hospital so she didn't really need one. "You go ahead and get cleaned up, I'm gonna go look for some trouble." she told him, pointing back to the building they were stationed in, but without particular motives to go back there.

"Alright, I'll find you later." Gabriella nodded before turning on her heel. All the men that ran to the commotion had now returned and were ready to get their well-earned showers and new, clean OD's. Gabriella had found a nice spot on the steps to one of the buildings near by. There wasn't much to do now that she was out of the hospital and they were waiting for this patrol. Part  of her wanted to go on the patrol and part of her wanted to stay out of action a little while longer. Her break from combat had stuck and she was in no mood to head back into it. But she knew that once she got her adrenaline pumping and her hands dirty once more, she would be okay. 

"Lieutenant Edwards." Gabriella stood up immediately at the sound of Captain Speirs calling her name. 

"Yes, sir." she greeted with a salute, to which he returned.

"I need to ask you a favor." he said, motioning for her to walk with him. 

"What might that favor be, sir?" she inquired, sticking her cold hands in her pockets. 

"Malarkey is in no condition to lead this patrol and Lieutenant Jones seems to want to go really bad. I was going to send Guarnere with them to ensure Lieutenant Jones made the right decisions and din't fuck this operation up, but he seems to need a break." he explained his thoughts as they stopped close to the showers.

"Sir, with all due respect, Malarkey and Guarnere are probably the most deserving of a break. I would be more than willing to take their places if needed." she told him, pushing her fears aside once more. 

"I can see why they made you a Lieutenant." he chuckled. "I wanted you on the patrol no matter what. I've heard the injury that sent you to the hospital is nothing but a ghost wound now so everyone thinks you're ready, including myself." he added as Gabriella simply nodded in agreement. 

"If it means Bill and Don get a break and a night to rest, I will gladly lead the patrol, sir." she repeated. She knew that seeing herself, Joe, Skip and Penkala being taken away on stretchers had ruined something in both of the non-comms that not a single person could describe or put into words, no matter if you studied literature or language in an Ivy League school like Webster had before the war. 

"Stand by for your orders, Edwards. I'm still trying to find a few more men to send." he told her, patting her on the shoulder and walking away. She left standing on the spot, looking at the ground in almost regret. She would never regret taking a friends spot in any combat mission. If she was wounded or the situation became too much, she was sure she would regret it for a little bit, but be fine after a few days. That's how things went in Europe. Bill had been in the hospital once since being deployed to Europe. Gabriella had been in three different hospitals and and Aid Station twice since getting deployed. She tried to think of it as being the heroic soldier that sacrifices herself for her friends and ends up paying the price. Now, she was starting to think she was just plain foolish. 

"Hey, Edwards. You doing okay?" Gabriella looked up to see Cobb approaching her. He was clean shaven and had on a new uniform. Despite being an asshole 90% of the time, he too deserved the hot showers the company were given. 

"Just worried about the patrol tonight." she admitted, her nervous habit of chewing on the corners of her bottom lip had come back now that she had something to worry about. 

"It seems like they only want guys from 2nd platoon." he stated. 

"Lieb seems pretty pissed about it." Gabriella noted, pointing to Lieb who was obvious on a rant about something to a couple guys from 3rd. 

"Only because he's been picked. Along with Popeye, Skinny, Grant and Webster so I heard." If there was one thing Cobb was good at besides getting on everyone's nerves and getting drunk, it was listening in on conversations and getting all the details and gossip. 

"Speirs is thinking about sending me in Bill's spot. If it was up to me I would be leading the whole, give those two a break." She stated, picking at her fingers as she spotted Bill leaving the shower area, dressed in a clean uniform, just like Cobb. 

"No offence, but I wouldn't follow Malarkey or Bill on this patrol after what they've been through. Especially after the barrages. And Foy, Noville and Rachamps." Cobb listed the towns the company had been sent to clear out of Germans, each one breaking her heart even more. She had left Bill to deal with those things on his own, all for a dislocated shoulder. "You know you can't blame yourself for leaving him behind. After all, you managed to save both him and Joe from dying." Cobb added, noticing her worry. 

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused as to what he meant when she 'saved' both of them. 

"Everyone knows how you dragged Joe out of the way of those blasts. Hell, those bombs were heading right for you two. If you hadn't, Joe probably would have lost his leg. We all know that. Bill probably would have been the one to find you guys and it's no doubt all three of you would have been shelled during the second barrage." he explained. The memory of that day in the forest had been burned into her brain: the pain, the noise, the smell, the fear. 

"I guess my shoulder was a small price to pay for keeping my friends, eh?" she said, trying to force herself to be positive, but it was no use. "I still got a bad feeling about the patrol tonight." she admitted, running a nervous hand down her face. 

"You and me both." Cobb said before patting her on the shoulder and turning to leave just as Bill walked over. She hadn't acknowledged him at first until she knew Cobb was out of earshot. 

"What was that all about?" Bill asked, fixing the zipper on his jacket. 

"Just talking about the patrol." she told him, still looking down at her boots that had since been covered in mud after arriving here. 

"Gabi...what's going on?" He asked again, knowing almost immediately that something was up with the girl. She didn't have the guts to look him in the eye, but he needed to tell him everything. 

"Spiers wants me to take your place on the patrol tonight." She told him, earning an unbelieving scoff. "Bill, no one trusts your and Malarkey to lead this thing after what you guys lost." she told him, still looking down at the ground. She felt guilty for some reason and she knew she would feel even guiltier if she hadn't told him this. 

"We didn't lose anything. We just saw our friends get taken to the hospital, that's it. We're fine." he told her as if she was the one making the decision. 

"I know that Bill, but you need a break. Both of you do!" she exclaimed, finally finding the courage to look up at him. "Remember when Joe took my spot on that Kraut hunting patrol back in Bastogne? He took my spot because I was beyond exhausted, don't you remember?" Bringing up Bastogne in a time like this was risky to not only her, but Bill as well. 

"Yes, I remember. What's that got to do with anything?" he questioned. 

"Well, now it's my turn to return the favor. I can't really take Joe's spot because he's not here, but I can take  yours." she told him in the most determined tone of voice she could muster. "Bill, you need to rest. Don't let what happened to me happen to you." she said softly. Bill took a second to think, trying to reason with the words she was spitting at him. 

"I can't let you go it alone, Gabi. Joe would kill me if anything happened to you while he was in the hospital." he told her. 

"I promised him I would be here when he got out and I intend to keep my promise, but I also made a promise to myself to make sure you got home safe too and I intend to keep both promises." By now, Gabriella's emotions were flying so high that there was no pulling them back down to control them. She promised herself, the day she learned Bill's brother got killed in Italy, that she would make sure Bill got home safe and in one piece at the end of he war and she got this far with it, she wasn't about to abandon that promise now. 

"You need to stop making promises to yourself because every time you do, you get hurt. You're not immortal, Gabi. One wrong move and you're never coming back. Did you forget that just now like you forgot about that in Holland?" Now it seemed like ti was Bill's turn to bring up their past war-time experiences. 

"I'm not letting you go on that patrol, Bill. Even if I have to tie you up and throw you in a closet until I get back, you are _not_ going across that river." she threatened. By now any passerby's had  heard most of their conversation and were beginning to worry about both of them and their capability to lead anything. 

**~End of Chapter 16~**


	17. Hershey Bars

**-**

**Hagenau, France**

**-**

After their little argument, Bill and Gabriella had gone separate ways for a bit before one of them said something they would regret. Both of them were protective of the other considering it would be just them two for the next while. They weren't usually this way before Bastogne. Bastogne had been the marking point for where things got bad. More men died than before and more minds were lost to the great scheme that was war. 

When Gabriella signed the contract landing her in the Airborne, she envisioned blood, guts, tears and pain. She did not expect it to go this far as to crush her soul completely. She didn't wish this upon anyone and never wanted to experience it ever again if she finally got home. She would probably never look at her family the same ever again, knowing they hadn't seen what she had seen, but she was thankful that they were spared from seeing the shit she had. 

Aside from overthinking her situation in the war, Gabriella had spent most her time with George in one of the make-shift supply offices counting and organizing supplies like candy and chocolate bars. George had snuck  the lieutenant a Hershey bar for the sake of her being fresh out of the hospital. Eventually, Martin and Cobb had found them and their stash of sweets and were begging them for something tasty. George was unmoved by their pleas and tossed Martin a pack of Juicy Fruit instead of his begs for a Hershey bar. Soon enough, Lieb had dragged some more men in, along with Lieutenant Jones who was still dead-set on finding Spiers and asking to be on the patrol. 

"Jesus Christ, you guys, there's no enough to go around!" George exclaimed, beginning to get fed up with their constant begging. Gabriella had been sitting on the counter next to his pile of sweets, flipping through papers and organizing files when Vest, who used to deal with mail, dropped the news on Luz that he was to blast a house with a few bazooka rounds later. Gabriella found it amusing that everyone was pestering him about Hershey Bars. 

"Give the guy a break, will ya!" Gabriella looked over at the doorway opposite of the one Lieb had sauntered through and saw tiny Perconte standing there with lean OD's and pearly white grin. 

"Hey! Welcome back Frank!" the men cheered in good greetings, confusing the hell out of Gabriella, which went quickly noticed by George. 

"Frank got shot in the ass during the attack on Foy. Bull carried him out like a damn rag-doll." George explained briefly, relieving the girl of her confusion. "Here Frank." George tossed the short-stack man a Hershey bar, getting an annoyed reaction from the rest of the men, especially Lieb. 

"How come he get's one?" Lieb argued, throwing his hands up. 

"Because he got shot in the ass." 

"I love what you did with the place, George." Frank commented as if George had redecorated the entire room when he was stationed here. 

"It does look kinda nice, don't it?" George answered as Frank approached the table top they were working at. 

"Good to see you back, Gab. How's Joe?" There was no doubt in anyone's mind that Gabriella had recovered physically since they left the Ardennes Forest, or else she would have never come back. No one knew about Joe. 

"He'll be back soon. When I left I made sure Skip and Penkala were moved to the room he was in so neither of them were alone." she told them, figuring she'd answer any questions about the other two, although many didn't seem to care. 

"Them two healing up fine?" Frank asked, setting his bag on the floor, followed by his helmet. 

"They should be. That's what the nurse said." She stated, setting the stack of papers to her left. Martin had begun bothering the man about trying to get him out of the war, only for him to come right back. 

"I heard the Krauts were finished." he stated, only to be hit my the sudden news about the patrol. What a wonderful welcome back this had been, for both of the injured paratroopers. Gabriella hadn't paid much attention to Vest's story about an officer from West Point blowing his foot off on D Company's patrol the night  before, shoe mines. Queue Cobb's greatest talent: being an asshole. At first, he only asked vest what else he had back there, but then I guess it must have turned personal when he mentioned Hershey bars and Lucky Strikes and how they were hoarding them. 

"Cobb, watch the mouth will ye, he's a kid doing his job." George retaliated, not taking any of Cobb's shit. "Jesus Christ, you know what, screw it, have fun Vest. I got a house to blast." George said, throwing a couple cases of Lucky Strikes into a crate and grabbing his jacket off the table behind them. "Gab, you wanna blast a house with me?" he asked the Lieutenant, which piqued her interest. 

"Fuck yeah, I do." She answered happily, hopping down from the counter-top and following George around the counter where supplies and papers had been scattered everywhere. 

"Alright, come on then. Let's go blow some shit up." he said, grabbing her hand and leading her away from the group like he was guiding a small child. 

"I love blowing shit up." she mumbled excitedly. As the two left the building that made up the temporary supply office, chaos ensued as Frank was left defenseless against the greedy crew who simply wanted a couple Hershey Bars. Gabriella was so excited to finally do something that she hadn't noticed she passed right by Bill. 

"Hey, Gabi! Where you going?" he called out after her. She turned briefly and Bill was met with a face a pure joy. 

"Gonna go blast a house with Luz I'll be back!" She called back before running to catch up to George, who was still angry with Cobb and his choice of words towards Vest. There was no denying that some of the men in the company became more greedy and more asshole-ish as their time here dragged on. Gabriella hadn't been one of those. She was a good Lieutenant, especially when faced with the shortage of food in Bastogne. No one- besides Bill and Joe- knew about what Dyke was doing to her, so when she went without eating for days on end, they all thought she was being selfless and making sure everyone else ate first. Which may have scored her some more brownie points and respect from the men she served with, but it did nothing for her morale at the time. Now that they had lived through the Ardennes Forest and everything it had to offer, seen their friends die before them either from the cold or the Germans, and finally made it out of Belgium, the men had been turned into fearless, killing machines with no remorse. These fearless killing machines also wanted nothing more than for the war to be over so they could go home to their families, sleep in their own beds, eat proper food and carry on their lives, most of them wanting to forget anything ever happened. 

***

When the two were done blasting the house, George had gone back to the supply office to help Vest count up more supplies while Gabriella went to find Bill. She figured now would be the time for them to talk without getting pissed at each other. When she did find him, he was playing a quick game of cards with Martin and Bull. 

"When you gonna give in there, Bill. We know you got a shitty hand." Bull taunted him. Everyone knew he couldn't win a game of cards without Gabriella standing behind him telling him what to do. Especially against the likes of Bull and Martin who would  tag-team against their opponents so they could finish the game between the two of them. 

"Right about now." He answered after spotting Gabriella in the doorway to the house they were sitting in. "I'm out." he said, throwing his hand onto the table, picking up his rifle and standing up. 

"He's just a sore loser is all." Martin stated as the two continued the game by themselves. Bill followed the girl out of the house and into the street. The men were too busy running around and preparing for the patrol that they didn't even notice the two. 

"So about earlier," Gabriella began as Bill sighed, knowing where this was going. "Speirs gave me the go ahead to take  your spot. I'm pretty sure Malarkey is getting taken off by Lieutenant Jones." she continued. 

"And what am I supposed to do while you're out there huntin' Krauts, eh? Twiddle me thumbs?" he joked as they passed by the back building 2nd battalion was stationed in. 

"Get some rest, find some food, read a book." She listed off the number of things he could do while she was out. "You know, you don't have to worry about me on the patrol, if you're scared I'm gonna get hit or something. It's a simple patrol, nothing major." She told him, earning a look that spoke a million words. 

"I know, I know. There's a reason they made you a Lieutenant and it's because you know what you're doin', but that ain't gonna stop me from worryin', you hear?" He said as they passed by the CP building. 

"I promised Joe I'd be here in one piece by the time he got back. You want me to promise not to get myself killed, would that make you feel better?" she asked, jokingly but also knowing this was a very serious situation, at least the patrol was. Bill had only laughed, knowing he trusted her when she said she would be fine. 

"So....what's going on between you and Joe? You two doin' stuff behind everyone's backs or something?" he asked  out of nowhere, causing Gabriella to stop walking in a state of surprise. 

"What the hell are you talking about?" she questioned, not knowing whether to be mad at him for asking such a question or tell him everything that happened in the hospital. 

"Oh, please, Gabi. I've seen the way you two look at each other, all lovey-dovey and shit. We just wanna know when the wedding is." He chuckled, earning himself a punch to the chest. "What was that for?" he questioned, holding a hand to the spot Gabriella had punched him. 

"You know what it was for." She carped, crossing her arms over her chest. 

"Well, I don't hear you denying it." He stated, giving her a suggestive look. She only turned her head to look away from him. "What really happened in that hospital between you two?" He asked again, with a sly grin. 

"Nothing...." She muttered, trying to decide whether or not to tell him about the kiss. 

"Just tell me, already! The suspense is killing me." He begged. Not only had Bill been the first to notice, but he was also the one who wanted to know if the two would do anything before the wars over and they go their separate ways. 

"Fine!" She caved, throwing her hands in the air, stilling not looking at him. "I kissed him...." she said, almost inaudibly. 

"Come again?" 

"I kissed him, alright! Is that what you wanted to hear?" she said out loud, but hopefully not loud enough that anyone else would hear. Bill had been a pain in the ass before, but now more than ever considering he wanted to know all  the latest gossip between his friends. 

"I knew it!" Bill exclaimed, jumping in the air like a maniac. If they had been just a street over, the Germans would have for sure seen them and fired a few martyrs. "Maybe the hospital is a good place after all." He stated jokingly as Gabriella stopped walking, giving him a look of annoyance. 

"You done, fanboy?" she questioned, her arms back into their crossed position in front of her. "You keep yappin' your mouth about it, I'm going to get  into serious trouble." She lectured as Bill managed to stop laughing. 

"Your secrets safe with me, Gabi. You should know that by now." 

"Some days I doubt it." 

***

At 1700, Gabriella had met in one of the buildings with the rest of the men who were supposed to go on the patrol. Like predicted, Lieutenant Jones had taken Malarkey's place and she  had taken Bill's. She also noticed that almost the entirety of 2nd Platoon had been there waiting as well. 

"I thought Sergeant Guarnere was supposed to be on the patrol, Lieutenant?" Jones questioned as soon as she walked in. 

"Well, I'm taking his place. Both he and Malarkey needed a break from action, just like 2nd platoon. Don't know why they chose us to do this shit." She said. She still hadn't accepted this mans presence. He had graduated on D-day, from what she didn't know, and hadn't seen action since. D-day happened almost a whole year ago. 

"Well, I for one am interested in seeing how you do in combat. I mean they must have made you a Lieutenant for a reason, right? I  doubt it was for all the frequent stays on Aid Stations or hospitals I've been hearing about." He said, as if her rank and experience was nothing more than a joke.  He had crossed the line then, Gabriella had had enough of his inexperienced ass to last her a lifetime. 

"You think this is a game, Lieutenant Jones? Huh! You think this is a fucking game!" She questioned, grabbing fistfuls of his jacket and pushing him into the wall, stunning him. 

"I just- I didn't mean-" He stammered as Lieb and Cobb stepped up to pull her away from him. 

"Let it go, Gab. He's not worth it." Lieb whispered to her, using one hand to pull her back and one trying to remove her iron-tight grip on his coat. After a moment or two of intense stare-down, Gabriella backed off, but not before shoving him into the wall once more. "Come on, sit down. We ain't gonna get nothing done like this." Lieb told her, directing her over to the table where the rest of the men were either sitting or standing around. Lieutenant Jones had fixed his composure and went back to standing stick straight next to the wall. 

"What'd he say?" Heffron asked the girl, only to get a salty attitude in return. 

"Don't fucking worry about it." she said, sitting in the chair Lieb had previously possessed. No one seemed to like Lieutenant Jones except for maybe Webster. The two had shown up in Hagenau and were hurt when they were treated like replacements. Gabriella knew Webster and she trusted him more than Jones. She  had trained with him, Jones she had just met and already had to get pulled away from him before she hurt him as bad as she wanted to. 

"Ten hut!" Jones shouted, standing in attention next to the door as Captain Winters and Martin walked into the room. Gabriella followed suite of the rest of the men and stood up, giving a salute until Winters returned it before standing at ease. 

"As you know, we gathered 15 of you for this patrol tonight at 0100. Lieutenant Jones and Lieutenant Edwards are your superior officers, Jones will be under an  observer. " Winters started. Gabriella noticed Webster had nodded in almost approval towards Jones, which angered her even more. "Sergeant Martin will be leading alongside Lieutenant Edwards." Martin had sent a glare over to Webster for nodding at Jones, which was enough to make Webster shift on the spot. "We will have machine guns and artillery pointed at the house. We hear these whistles, we open up so don't blow until you've got your prisoners and are back at the boats." Winters added. 

"And what if the house appears to be empty, sir?" Gabriella asked, her arms crossed in front of her once more that day. 

"It won't be, but if it is, we know it's an outpost and we want it destroyed so you'll need to set some demolition on a time delay." He answered, handing the whistles to Martin. "Remember, it's about prisoners, don't pop the first thing that moves, understand?" Winters asked, looking around at the men- and woman- around the table before him. A collective of nods and yes's had assured Winters that they knew what they were doing. "Martin, have you picked your assault team?" 

"McClung, Sisk, Cobb, Garcia, Edwards and Webster as translator. The rest of you guys are base of fire with Sergeant Grant." Martin listed before tossing one of the whistles to Grant. 

"Good, any questions?" Winters asked before receiving a collective of no's from the group. "Alright, good luck." he said before tapping Martin on the arm before the two left the room together. Jones had done the same 'ten hut' bullshit, but no one followed since Winters dismissed them all right away. Once the superiors were gone, everyone had given Jones a collective of dirty looks, including his fellow Lieutenant, who left right away to find Bill. 

 

**~End of Chapter 17~**


	18. One Last Patrol

**-**

**Hagenau, France**

**_**

After the debriefing, Gabriella and the rest of the men met up in one of the buildings where Bill and Malarkey had spent the last 10  minutes or so heating up some of the army soup ration packs for the group. Webster had managed to talk to Winters about there being two translators. The original number was supposed to be 15, but with both Webster and Liebgott as translators and Gabriella taking Bill's place, there was 17. Webster had managed to get Liebgott out of the patrol, dropping the number down to 16, which was as close to the original plan number as possible. 

"Your Lieutenant buddy seems to be avoiding you." Bill stated quiet enough his statement would only stay between themselves. "What did you do?" he asked, pouring some of the soup into her cup. 

"He pissed me off. I told him what's what." She answered, plain and simple. 

"She threw him up against a wall and screamed at him." Cobb mentioned as he passed by the two. Bill looked down at the girl with both pride and disappointment. 

"Oh, Gabi. I'm startin' to think I've been a bad influence on you." he joked, setting the now empty pot on the table behind him before kneeling down to the ground in front of her. 

"You gonna lecture me about bad choices or not?" she asked bluntly, her bad mood still lingering, even while she ate her food. 

"Nope." 

*

After the crew of 16 troops had finished their food, they spent a couple hours wrapping their rifles in black adhesive tape and taking a lighter to things that couldn't be tapped. Gabriella's bad mood had gone away for the most part, but she still hated Jones with more than a passion. Bill had sat with her while she blacked out anything that might shine and throw away their position. 

With cups of coffee and semi-warm food their bellies, the 15 men sat in silence, blacking out their gear and taking off anything shiny. Gabriella had noticed the mood of the room had shifted into something dark. These men had just survived the nightmare that was the Ardennes Forest and were probably thinking about the possible disaster they were being sent into. The rest of the company- Bill, Malarkey and Lieb included- had left the group on their  own for a bit, letting them prepare both physically and mentally. No one knew if the patrol was going to be worse than what they experienced in the New Year or if it was going to go smoothly, which would be a steady change of pace for the men and woman of Easy Company. 

By nightfall, the Germans had spotlights on the sky and the horizon. They were shooting flares into the sky, adding light to better spot any movement coming from the American troops. By 0100, the boats and crew of 16 were ready by the shore of the river and were awaiting the go ahead to start the mission. Not even 10 minutes into the mission and something already went wrong. 

The last boat to hit the water had tipped, pouring the three men it contained into the water. Garcia was the unlucky soul chosen for the mission despite his inability to swim. The men scrambled to shore as the rest of the boats kept moving parallel to the rope that had been tied to the other side of the river. There hadn't been a single mistake as the crew of 13 continued in tactical movements towards the targeted house. Gabriella followed close to Martin, following his every move and was doing more following than leading, which she was okay with.

"Powers, Wynn, secure the left flank." Martin whispered to the men on this right as they took cover  behind a stack of logs. "Lieutenant Jones, take Grant and Heffron to secure the right perimeter at the crossroads. Security out, move." He ordered before glancing at the Lieutenant beside him. "Ready?" He asked her, receiving a nod in response. Gabriella had been calm the whole night leading up to the advance. She didn't let Jones and her seething hatred for the man bother  her one bit because she knew she had a job to do.

When Martin gave the go ahead for the rest of them to move, Gabriella took point and lead them to a small shack of sorts before creeping towards the corner of a building, the rest falling in behind her as they rounded the corner and awaited instruction. Gabriella watched carefully as Martin attached an explosive attachment of sorts to his rifle before giving a nod to the crew. It was then Gabriella realized he was more fit for the duties of a Lieutenant than she was, or ever will be. Without a second thought, Martin stepped away from the wall and fired the shot into the window above them. Jackson had taken that as the queue to move in because he ran past both leaders and up the stairs to the door. He tossed a grenade through the window Martin had shot through before going straight through the door. 

"Jackson wait!" Gabriella called out, following him up the stairs and towards the door, but it was too late. The grenade went off, peppering Jackson and throwing Gabriella into the stone ledge. Martin wasted no time to help the two before storming inside followed by Webster and Vest. Webster began spewing German at the Krauts as they held their hands up in fear. Gabriella had hit her head once more when she came into contact with the ledge, causing her to take time to regroup and regain her vision. 

Among the Germans in the building, one of them was injured. Martin ordered Webster to prime the charges while also telling the two uninjured Krauts to pick up their comrade before sending Ramirez to pick up Jackson. 

"Come on, we're moving out!" Martin ordered as the Germans and Jackson were rushed out of the building. "Edwards, you good?" he asked, pulling her  to her feet as she tried to use the same ledge to stand up. 

"I'll be fine, let's go." she answered, grabbing her rifle and following the  men escorting the Krauts out of the building. She  hadn't noticed how bad Jackson's condition was until they were outside. Half his face was peppered by shrapnel. 

As the group moved farther from the building, Martin had fallen behind to gather up the security teams he sent out. Gabriella noticed this and had stopped moving to wave the Krauts and the men carrying Jackson back to the boats, same way they came. As the security teams fell in, so did Martin who left the back side exposed in all the confusion. Gabriella's head snapped the other way as she  heard Jones blowing the whistle before she and Martin could reach the boats. 

"Come on, Martin! We gotta move!" She yelled at him as the two ran to catch up to the crew. Eventually, Gabriella had managed to out run him and leaving him behind slightly. She only stopped when she heard him scream for help.

"Edwards!" She turned on a dime to see a Kraut had jumped him and was fighting to stick him with a syringe of sorts. This part of the patrol had not been planned. Thinking fast, she ran back to his aid and tackled the Kraut off of him and wrestled the bastard on the ground all while avoiding getting pricked by the needle. 

"Go, Martin! I got this!" She screamed at him as she pushed the Krauts hand into the dirt before send a punch to the throat, stunning him. She turned back to see Martin gone and running to catch up with the crew. When she turned back to the Kraut she was fighting, the stunning shot had worn off and the man was able to throw her off of him as his friends ran up as well. Gabriella heard the whistles in the distance, but also machine gun fire from across the river. She was close to getting to safety except for the fact she had to fight off three Krauts. 

She threw punch after punch and kick after kick as the men tried to hold her still long enough for one of them to sedate her, but she kept fighting. She managed to rip out of their grips and run after Martin, dodging bullets in the process. 

"Come on, Edwards! Let's go!" He screamed to her. The crew was already at the boats and were having difficulties. Gabriella was a fast runner, but not fast enough it seemed. The Krauts had caught up, taking her down to the ground as a fourth one stuck the needle in her leg. She let out a scream as she felt the fluid being administered into her blood stream but continued to fight until her vision went black. 

Martin watched as her head lob back, signalling she was unconscious. What ever they had in that syringe was powerful and fast-acting. In the midst of a gunfight, the Krauts dragged her body back towards the buildings, leaving Martin no choice, but to leave her behind. 

"Sergeant, we can't just leave her there!" Vest cried, already shaken up by Jackson. 

"There's nothing we can do for her! This is not a rescue mission!" He yelled over the sound of constant gunfire, no matter how much it hurt him to say those words. Gabriella was fresh out of the hospital, had been reunited with  her best friend after a month and now she was taken hostage by the Krauts, leaving 11 men to transport 2 wounded and 2 prisoners back across the river, except the wounded Kraut was left behind on shore while the rest scrambled across the river. When they arrived, a bunch of men had arrived to help out, including Spiers. The boats were stranded at the shore as they all ran for cover. The Krauts and Jackson were brought to the same building the crew had been before the patrol. A few men were waiting there and jumped into action as soon as the word 'wounded' was practically screamed into the void. 

Jackson was placed on the table as the Krauts were forced into the back corner of the room. Martin left to send for Doc Roe, even while the fighting continued outside, which left Jones in charge of things. A bunch of men circled around the table, reaching out to try and help Jackson in any way they could without a doctor or a medic. Vest was completely shaken after watching his friend get peppered and Gabriella get drugged and dragged away by the enemy. He was so distraught that he pulled a gun on one of the prisoners, causing Jones to step in for once and push him and another man away from them to prevent them from shooting the only positive outcome they had of the night. 

When Martin returned with Roe, the crying and shouting had stopped as he examined the facial wounds on Jackson. Even Jackson had stopped sobbing long enough for Roe to rule out that he couldn't help him here, and thus ordered for him to be removed from the building and brought to where medical supplies and help were. They got him on a stretcher and two steps towards the door before martyr blasts forced them to set the stretcher on the ground, where Jackson made his final sobs of _"I don't wanna die"_ before choking once more on his own blood and fading before their eyes. 

The room went silent as Martin ripped the blanket from around Skinny's shoulder and placed it over the lifeless body of Eugene Jackson. Vest was an emotional wreck, crying against the wall. His first combat mission had brought him no experience, but a shit load of heart break. He and Martin were the ones who saw what happened to Gabriella. No one acknowledged her lack of presence until Cobb looked around at all his friends saddened faces. 

"Where's the girl?" he asked, a blanket around his shoulders and a bottle of French alcohol in his hand. The mention of Gabriella had only made Vest sob even more. Martin looked down at the ground in despair. Before he could say anything, the person he was least excited to see had burst through the doors. Bill Guarnere took one look at the body on the ground before assuming the worst in his head. He looked up and around the room, scanning each face he could see, even pushing past men to search the room for any sign of his friend. When he couldn't find her, he turned to Martin. Martin had made a promise to Bill to keep an eye out for Gabriella during the patrol. 

"Where is she?" Bill asked, at first with only a saddened voice. But when Martin didn't answer, his voice got angry. "Where is she?!" He cried as Martin covered his eyes with a dirt covered hand. It had been the first time these men had seen Bill or Martin shed any sort of tears. 

"She saved my life, Bill. She saved my life." Martin cried. He was thankful Gabriella had stepped in to save him. It would mean he had another chance to finish out the war before going home to see his wife again. But he was also guilty that he hadn't made any effort to return the favor. "A Kraut jumped me, it was only one. She fought him off, but more showed up." He explained, choking back tears and sobs that were dying to be let out. 

"What happened to her?" Bill asked once more, becoming more and more incomprehensible by the second. Martin wiped his eyes only for more tears to fall. 

"They got her. The Krauts fucking got her." Martin cried as everyone became aware of the severity of the condition. "She was still alive, too! They drugged her unconscious and carried her away like she was nothing!" Martin sobbed as Bill shook his head. He tried to tell himself that this wasn't real and that she would walk through the door any second now. Being killed by a Kraut was one thing, but taken hostage was a completely different story. 

"No, you're lying!" Bill cried as Captain Spiers walked through the door, seeing the mess unfold before him. 

"Martin, what happened?" he asked. Martin just shook his head and turned away. Bill had resorted to sitting on the ground, for fear he might puke at the thought of the Krauts having his best friend in their custody. 

"Jackson's dead. Krauts have Gabriella. She's still alive." Cobb explained in very little detail. That was the first time he had referred to her by her first name since she came to Toccoa almost two years ago. For the rest of the night, no one spoke a word to anyone, not even a superior officer like Spiers or Winters. Not only had they lost Jackson, a beloved friend of the Company, but a well-respected Lieutenant, the third one this year. And it was February. 

Due to the lack of men left in Easy Company, or more respectively 2nd Platoon, Winters didn't take Bill nor Martin off the line like he  had done to Buck. Winters had to personally tell Sink of the situation, and yet he still wanted another patrol. After hearing about Gabriella, Sink had retired to his office in sorrow to try and figure out  of he should write back  to her family or not. 

Bill was taken out of leadership in 2nd Platoon leaving Malarkey to do it himself. He was instead given time to rest before they were to move out. The word about Gabriella had spread fast so by the time a letter from the hospital came in addressed to her, the only person anyone trusted to give it to was Bill. Although it was addressed to Gabriella, Bill had thought it may have been from Joe and since she wasn't here to read it, he tore it open and read what his friend had to say. 

**'Dearest Gabs,**

 

**Shortly after you left, Penkala was moved into the room where your cot used to be just like you had said. For another week it was just the two of us before they let Muck out of Critical Care. If you could, tell Bill these two thank him for saving their lives that day during the second barrage. Muck wouldn't stop talking about it. We all came to the conclusion that if you hadn't been sent to the hospital with me, your danger detectors would have gone off and you would of been there to save them instead. Nonetheless, all three of us are grateful we had people like you and Bill in our company.**

**I also wanted to write to you to tell you that I can walk without tearing the stitches in my leg and by the time you get this letter I should be able to walk with very little limping. I don't know where you'll be when I break out of this place, but I'll be with you soon enough. It's been lonely here in the hospital without seeing your smile.**

**I'll see you soon, Gabs.**

**Love,**

**Joe Toye'**

Reading the letter had not only warming his heart, but broke it as well. How the fuck was he suppose to tell  Joe the girl he loves was kidnapped by the enemy? An  enemy everyone despised more than life itself. Bill had hated the enemy when he learned his brother died in Italy, even if they were both facing two different oppositions. Bill had contemplated writing back, telling him to stay in the hospital a while longer because if he broke out Gabriella wouldn't be there. He knew it would destroy him more than it did himself.

He would lose two friends before the war was over. 

***

The sedative used to knock out Gabriella had been strong enough to keep her sedated until the German troops could sneak her out of Hagenau and towards a different outpost, where she was tied to a wooden chair and locked in a metal room until she woke up. It gave the Germans enough time to find an English speaking officer. When Gabriella woke, her jacket had been removed for the sake of them being inside. It took her a couple minutes to register what had happened and when it did, it sent her into a down-hill panic. 

"Hey!" she screamed even if it hurt her head to do so. "Hey! Let me out of here!" She fought against the ropes holding her to the chair. She tried to move the  chair itself, but it had been mounted to the ground some how. "Please! Just let me go!" She yelled once more before the large, heavy-looking door opened. Two men stood guard on the outside of the door while two stood guard in the inside while another man moved the the table in the corner and removed his jacket as well. 

"I didn't think America would be the first to let a woman into their military so formally." He spoke, his accent so thick it was apparent that English was his second language. 

"What do you want from me?" She asked, fear settling in the pit of her stomach. So much so, she thought she might puke. 

"Information. Where is your Company heading to next?" He asked, pulling a chair over in front of her and sitting down. To her, this would be easy considering she had just gotten  out of the hospital. He probably didn't believe her.

"I don't know. I just got back from the hospital and they sent me on the patrol across the river, alright. The only plans anyone spoke of was of the patrol to the German POW's, that's all I know." She explained. The man looked at her dead in the eye, looking for any sign of lies. 

"This is the truth?" He questioned. 

"Yes, yes, yes." She rambled, nodding her head. "I have proof, just look at my shoulder." She told him, motioning to her left shoulder where the fabric was wrapped tightly around her. The man was hesitant, but he stood up, pulled part  of her shirt away to see the fabric before sitting back down. 

"Some how I don't believe you." He said with a frown. "Usually, I would never beat a woman. My mother would come down from the Heavens and drag my soul to Hell herself, God rest her soul." He told her, making the sign for the cross across his chest while looking up at the ceiling as if he was looking to the heavens. He paused for a moment before looking back at her. "You were someone important to your company, no?" He asked once more. 

"A Lieutenant, yes." She answered. 

"A Lieutenant?" He said in surprise, clicking his tongue. "America really is all inclusive, huh?" He laughed as Gabriella looked past him at the table. It was empty, no weapons that could be used to hurt her. "What did you do before you joined, Lieutenant? Where you a house wife, maybe a receptionist?" He asked, tauntingly. 

"I lived with my family. I worked for a Government office, they gave me the opportunity to join." She explained in partial truth. 

"The Golden Land of Opportunity." He muttered as if America had been a joke. "Tell me, Lieutenant: do you have any friends in your company who would try to come save you?" He asked as Gabriella looked at the  ground. 

"I know a few would, but regiment would never let them." She mumbled, her heart aching at the thought of Bill having to tell Joe what had happened to her. She promised him that she would still be there and now she  was somewhere else in the hands of the enemy. 

"Why such a sad face, fräulein?" The man asked. And for a second she believed him to be sympathetic, but the look he gave her was far from it. 

"Please, just let me go. I can't tell you anything because I don't know anything, please. I won't even tell anyone about any of this, just let me go, Please." She begged. She wasn't one to beg and plead for anything, but she made a promise to Joe and she wanted to keep it. "Please, I made a promise to my friend that I would be there when he got out  of the hospital, Please just let me go." 

"I take pity on you, Lieutenant." He said, standing up and dragging the chair back over to the table. "But to let you go would give away our position and to drive you back to Hagenau would mean leaving my men exposed." He told her as he threw his jacket back on. "But since we share a similar rank, I will have you moved somewhere nicer. Consider it a favor, from one Lieutenant to another." He said before walking out of the room, the two men guarding inside following suit before the door was shut and locked. Gabriella was left with nothing else to do besides sit, tied to the chair, and cry. 

**~End of Chapter 18~**


	19. MIA in France

**-**

**Shortly After Hagenau**

**-**

Telling Joe about Gabriella had been the hardest thing Bill has had to do since being deployed into a goddamn war-zone. Joe spent days in silence before finally accepting the fact she wasn't there. The entire company felt bad for the two considering they were her closest friends. Martin wrote back to his wife, telling her about what happened. The letter Sink wrote to the family was nothing less than heartbreaking.

**'To Mr. Michael J. Edwards and Mrs. Marie-Alice Edwards,**

**By now I'm sure you've heard of the great advancements the 506 is making as we lead into Germany for the first time. I would like to say that your daughter, Lieutenant Gabriella Edwards, has been more than a huge help in fighting the enemy and moving Easy Company, in which many owe their  lives to her. But, it is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that in the early morning of 10 February, 1945 in the small French town of Hagenau, Lieutenant Edwards was placed on a patrol to sneak into enemy lines and captured German POW's for questioning with 15 other men and officers. Although the operation was a success, it was at such a high cost.**

**I am deeply sorry to report that your daughter, Lieutenant Gabriella Edwards, has been captured by the Germans for predicted questioning. We believe she is still alive and are on constant look out for German activity that might lead us to her position so we can bring her back into Company arms and send her back to you in one piece. I will keep you notified personally of any updates.**

**I am deeply sorry. Your family has my condolences, and those of the entirety of Easy Company.**

**Signed,**

**Colonel Robert Sink'**

 

After weeks of asking, Joe had managed to get the mailing address so he could personally write to her family, knowing they would probably appreciate it if they heard from someone who was close to Gabriella as he was.

**'To the family of Gabriella Edwards,**

**My name is Joseph Toye, I serve in Easy Company of the 101st Airborne. I write to you in regards to the status of Gabriella. She was my closest friend and one of the greatest fighters I have ever had the privilege to know. She had saved not only my leg, but my life in the Ardennes Forest when we were stationed overlooking the town of Foy. We were in the hospital together after that, but she healed faster than I did and went back out to the line to protect our friend Bill Guarnere. When I had returned from the hospital, my heart was broken to hear that she had been captured by Germans.** **I had the option to stay in the hospital a while longer, but I chose to stay with the Company in hopes of finding her one day so I could bring her back to you personally. It's the least I could do considering she has done so much for not just me, but this Company as well. She has my heart forever.**

**I wish your family only the best in these hard times and shall we find her I will write back to you immediately.**

**Signed,**

**S. Sergeant Joe Toye'**

***

**March, 1945  
Sturzelberg, Germany**

*******

 After the return of Lieutenant Harry Welsh, many of the men simply put the disappearance of Gabriella out of their minds for the  fact that the return of one Lieutenant may lead to the return of another. Nonetheless, it pissed off Joe how many of the Toccoa men simply forgot about her. Joe, Bill, and Muck and Penkala once they returned from the hospital, and Malarkey all remembered. Joe would pester Winters any chance he could about anything new popping up and when Joe was told to back off, Bill did the same and so on and so on. 

The men hadn't heard anything from Sink which made them even more of a nervous wreck. Martin, on the other hand, was plagued at the thought  that he could be the one missing and not Gabriella, had she not noticed he had been jumped. Every day, Martin would check on Joe and the others before going about his own duties. He felt the worst about her capture simply because it could have been him. 

 _'It should have been me.'_ He thought to himself everyday. No one had the slightest clue as to what she could have been going through, and they almost didn't want to know. Somewhere in the back of their minds, they kept the thought that she would be alright considering she had just gotten out of the hospital and there wasn't any word of advancement besides the patrol. 

Even with the loss of Jackson and Gabriella, the men still had to move on. Lipton was promoted to Lieutenant, Jones was promoted to first Lieutenant and transferred from Easy Company, and Winters had been promoted to Major Richard Winters. After a failed jump into Berlin, Nixon had been demoted due to his drinking. Winters had tried to get it through to him, but his main priority was figuring out what to write home to the families of all the men who died in the jump, leaving Nixon the only survivor. 

-

Between current events lectures and taking turns out on posts set up at the entrance to Sturzelberg, there really wasn't much to do now that the 17th Airborne had  been moved into the Rhine instead of the 101st. With the lack of things to do, Joe became restless and had been busy pacing a hole in the floor of the house he and Bill shacked up it. 

"Jesus, Joe. Sit down for a bit, will ya." Bill told him, walking into the house with more food rations. Some time between Hagenau and Sturzelberg, many of the men had found time to shave and get cleaned up. The weather was nice which meant less layers. 

"We could be out there looking for her, but instead we're stuck here waiting for the 17th Airborne to do _our_ job." Joe complained, pacing back and forth between the table in the dinning room and the  couch in the living room. 

"Joe, I know you want to find her and bring her back, but we can't really do that if we have no leads. It's best to sit tight and wait for something to pop up." Bill reminded him. He too had been wanting to find her since she was captured, but it didn't take him long to reason with the fact that they can't find a missing person without knowing where that missing person could be. 

"What, so we just give up, is that the plan?" Joe argued, throwing his hands in the air. 

"We sit tight and wait, Joe. I've told you this." He said calmly, placing the food rations on the table. "I know you love her, Joe. But you can't wear yourself down worrying about her. Trust me, I was the exact same way back in Hagenau." Bill had been a mess in between losing Gabriella and Joe returning from the hospital. Even for a few days after telling him what happened. He had to tell him that he read the letter and that she told him what went down in the hospital. 

"What if they killed her. Or left her for dead in a ditch somewhere." Joe had been playing the _'What If'_ game with himself since they reached Germany. It was likely- if she was still alive- that she was in Germany. France had too much Allied movement around it that if the Germans had any sense, they wouldn't want to keep a prisoner there. 

"Joe, don't start that shit. You keep asking questions like that you'll send yourself on a one-way trip to madness." Bill warned him. Except the madness had already started to keep the man up at night, wondering if he was ever going to see her ever again. 

-

Excitement in Sturzelberg hadn't ceased since they got there. There was the window smashing of a local shop, then the announcement that President Roosevelt had died, then there was the news that 300, 000 Krauts had surrendered and that Easy Company was set to move out. When the word that they weren't going to jump into Berlin spread to the men, they  had begun singing a tune before the trucks even left the town. 

 _"Gory Glory, what a hell of a way to die! Gory Glory what a hell of a way to die! We ain't gonna jump no more!"_ The collective of all the voices overpowered the  sound of the trucks as they powered down the road leading to their destination. Joe had been the only one who didn't sing. Instead, he thought about how happy Gabriella would have been if she were hear. Hell, he probably wound sing if she were here because knowing her, she'd be singing too. 

"Hey, Sergeant Toye. Why so glum?" One of the replacements asked from beside him. Like everyone else, this replacement had been singing his heart out and had no idea what any of the men had been through before they showed up. 

"None of your fucking business." He mumbled loud enough for the kid to hear him. The rest of the drive had been silent among those two. Joe hadn't spoken a word to anybody since leaving the town and he didn't plan on speaking unless he had to. 

-

When they arrived at their destination, the men had been ordered to remove a couple houses of its occupants for one night before the official surrender the next day. 

"Hey, Joe. Can I tell you something?" Muck asked after they had settled in one of the apartments that was cleared out. 

"Go ahead." He muttered, throwing his bag on the floor beside the couch. 

"My  grandma had this gift, you know. She could tell if shit was gonna go south or if something good was gonna happen. I think I got a little bit of that too." He started, getting comfy in one of the plush arm chairs in the living room. 

"Okay...and?" Joe inquired, confused as to why this was brought up. 

"I got a good feeling about this. I think something good's gonna happen for us, as a Company." He added, lighting up a smoke. Joe's thoughts immediately drifted to Gabriella. Maybe the good feeling Muck was having would be the start to them finding her. 

"Lets hope so." He said before laying down on the couch for the night. 

The next day, trucks drove down either side of a long road, and in the middle was the 300, 000 Kraut soldiers and officers that had surrendered. The sound of their marching feet echoed through the valley. Their commitment to continue to march had been astounding. They could have slumped over and dragged their tired feet, but they didn't. The men of Easy Company had to give them credit for that. After seeing the marching Krauts, the mood of the Company had changed into something dark. Webster had been screaming at the Krauts, knowing well they couldn't understand him. He may have made himself look foolish, but everyone knew every word that came out of his mouth was true. As the Company rolled into a new town, Captain Spiers sent 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Platoon of Easy to set up a perimeter in case they had to stay the night. 

-

Some time during the day, a group of men from Easy set out on a perimeter watch. Pat Christensen, Frank, Bull, George, O'Keeffe and one other man had been silently walking through the woods looking for any sign of something that might bring a little excitement to their day. Bull had noticed O'Keeffe was jumpy, claiming he could hear his heart beating in Arkansas. 

"Hey, George. Doesn't this remind you of Bastogne?" Frank asked the man walking behind him. Frank couldn't see it, but George had made a series of faces at his question. 

"Now that you mention it, except of course there's no snow, we got warm grub in our bellies and the trees aren't fucking exploding from Kraut artillery, but other than that, yes Frank, it's a lot like Bastogne." He retorted in an unamused tone of voice. 

"Right?" Frank replied as George walked ahead of him. 

"Bull, smack him for me please." George requested before Bull sent a hand straight to the back of Frank's helmet. "Thank you." 

Back in the town, officers and soldiers were busy looting abandoned houses or offices for smokes or little items they deemed to be valuable. Spiers had gotten to a lot of the good stuff back in Sturzelberg and some of the men were determined to beat him to the good stuff here. Nixon had the unfortunate circumstance of walking into a house owned by an SS high ranking officer. Without an regard, he threw a picture of the man onto  the floor, shattering the glass on the frame before the  wife of the man walked into the room. Without the exchange of any words, Nixon left in a hurry as the dog barked behind him. After hearing that his wife was divorcing him and taking his dog, he didn't want to look at another dog for the rest of his life, it felt. 

Back in the forest, things were getting a little too quiet for comfort as a sort of fog lay low in the bush. Christensen had been leading the way before stopping as Bull took  to looking at the sky. Without word, everyone had silently loaded their rifles and switched off the safety all while exchanging glances between each other. The men followed some sort of instinct that brought them to the edge of the treeline. What they saw then had made their stomachs churn and sent Frank running back into town to alert Major Winters. 

"Anyone seen any of the officers?" he asked frantically, each time getting a no and a direction to another person who might know. "Popeye, you seen any of the officers?" He asked, out of breath and ready to collapse. 

"Spiers is searching buildings just over there." He answered before Frank started off running again, ignoring any questions as to why he was such a mess. Before he could reach Spiers, he was directed to Major Winters as he walked out of a building. 

"Major Winters, sir, we found something out on the patrol, we found this thing." 

"Woah, Perconte, what is it?" He said, slowing the man down. 

"I don't know, sir. I just don't know." 

 

**~End of Chapter 19~**


	20. Unrecognizable

**-**

**Germany**

**-**

Frank had driven in the Jeep with Major Winters and Nixon, directing them to where he had left the rest of the crew, who were now sitting at the gates of what was the remains of a Concentration Camp. Upon arrival, Easy Company's once good mood had turned sour at the sight of the camp and the living prisoners within. Grey smoke was rising from some of the structures within the wood post and wire fence. The blue striped clothing and yellow stars stitched to the shirts was worn throughout the camp. Seeing such a horrible thing up close had wrecked even the toughest of men in the company, Bull included. The men in the camp had their  heads shaved and looked 10 minutes from starving to death. At first, no one said a word. They only stood in shock at the sight in front of them. 

"Jesus, Bill. Can you believe this?" Joe asked, jumping out of the truck and leaving his rifle behind. Bill did not reply, only looked at each men that had found the energy and strength to walk up to the fence. It didn't take long for the men to cut open the chains locking the gate as the stench of death wafted over to the company. It was enough to make the medics tear up, even after everything they'd seen and dealt with. With the first gate open, Winters stepped forward and ordered for the second gate to be opened. The men stumbled back as Frank and Christensen pushed open the gate leading into the camp, only to reveal more bodies littering the ground and shacks that had been burned to the ground. 

Joe had made his way to the front of the company, something deep inside him had pushed him to do it as if something was waiting for him in there. The sickly men were grabbing at the sleeves of Easy Company, mumbling things in German that no one could understand. Liebgott had been summoned to the front after staying by the trucks, not daring to look into the camp.  _These were his people._

"Liebgott, Winters needs you up front." Lipton called to the man, therefore forcing him to go inside the camp. The men trapped inside the camp had moved to the gates as the men of Easy Company moved further into the camp. Joe had been the lone one up front, checking every shack as he passed. 

"Joe! Wait up!" Bill called out, running to his friend. "Buddy, what are you looking for?" he asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. Joe looked at him with sad eyes. 

"Anything." Was his only answer. As more men passed them, it became clear that there was no sign of their beloved friend anywhere, something they were grateful for. They didn't want her to see something so bad. "She's been gone for too long." Joe stated, breathing heavy. Bill noticed how in distress his friend was and pulled him into a hug, forcing him to turn his back on the back of the camp. It was apparent that this was a men's only camp and it was almost unlikely that they would find her here. 

"It's alright, man. It'll be alright." He soothed, watching as the starved and imprisoned men passed him as Joe cried into his shoulder. But it was obvious Joe was still dead-set on finding Gabriella to really take in how bad this place really was. The guards had burned some of the structures with many of the men still inside, alive. Others were shot, but the guards had run out of ammo and left that morning. The women's camp was at the next railroad, but no one expected to see who had stumbled out from behind a half-burned structure. 

"Jesus Christ." George cursed at the sight of an unrecognizable woman, using a stick as a cane. Her trousers were torn and were  held together by strings, exposing the multiple cuts, scrapes and burns that ran up and down her legs. She wore a striped shirt like the rest of them, underneath a familiar jacket. George ran to Bill and Joe, tapping Bill on the shoulder and pointing to the sight about 50 yards away. They turned around and were just as shocked by the sight. The woman stumbled forward, dragging her left foot behind her until it had been rubbed raw on the gravel ground, until she could see the saviors at the front of the camp. She recognized them immediately, but they failed to recognize her. 'They' did not include Joe. He ran past countless dead bodies and starving men as the woman stumbled forward. George and Bill were stuck on the spot as they watched the woman fall into Joe's arms, losing the strength to stand. 

"It can't be." Bull whispered, approaching the two left behind. They watched in pain as Joe cradled the sickly woman in his arms, half relieved and half devastated to find her here. 

"I think it is." Bill said before running over to investigate, followed by George and eventually Bull. When they reached him, Joe was sitting on his knees, rocking slightly as the woman clutched to his jacket for dear life. Only up close did they recognize her. 

"Gabi," Bill breathed, kneeling down beside the two. Dirt and blood had covered every inch of skin on her body. The familiar looking jacket had been hers, same with the torn apart trousers. 

"I-I-I'll go g-get Doc." George stammered before turning and running as fast as he could. "Doc! Doc!" He called, earning the attention of everyone nearby. 

"What is it, Luz?" Nixon asked, stopping the man in his tracks, only to see he was just as distraught as Bill or Joe. 

"It's Gab. She's here." George managed to get out before succumbing to the tears. Upon hearing that their missing Lieutenant was here, every Toccoa man had rushed to the back of the camp, leaving the replacements with the prisoners. They stopped when they saw Bill, Bull and Joe running back, carrying a half-dead girl with them. 

"Where's Doc?" Bill asked hysterically as Joe and Bull pushed past everyone to get to the trucks, but not before everyone got a chance to see their Toccoa comrade, even if she was unrecognizable. She was placed in the back of one of the trucks, facing away from the camp. Joe had climbed in after her and held her in his arms as Bull found a blanket. She was shaking so bad from the cold they could almost hear her bones clattering. It was obvious she was starved and beaten. Her face was bruised and bloody along with much of her legs. 

"I can't believe they did that to her." Malarkey muttered, watching as Doc Roe jumped into the truck with Bill. They did what they could to wrap any cuts on her legs and they gave her water, but there was nothing else they could do. Eventually, they left her in the back of the truck with Joe until a medical truck was to arrived. She hadn't spoken a word and was visibly close to unconsciousness. 

"Hey, stay with me, okay. We're gonna get you out of here." Joe whispered to her as he tried to keep her awake.

"T-thank.......y-you..." was barely  audible from the girl as she hung to her life as hard as she could. Not now could she leave her friends, nor her  own daughter. To die, would be to orphan her child, and she was not about to do that.

"Hey, Gabs. Stay with me. It's okay." he muttered, watching as her eyes closed and her head fell back into his arm. "No, no, no, no. Gabs, stay with me. No....don't go, please don't go." He panicked, pulling her head forward, only she didn't wake up. "I love you. Please don't go." He cried, pulling her closer to him. Bill had watched the interaction, only to turn away when he knew she was unconscious. Doc Roe rushed back to her side to ensure she was still alive. A few medical supplies had arrived including the  necessary supplies to start slowly administering fluids into her via the bloodstream. 

While the rest of Easy Company gave aid to the men of the camp, the Toccoa men had resorted to taking a knee around the truck out of respect. They would have done it if it had been one of the other men from Toccoa simply because the Toccoa men shared a different kind of bond than that of any replacement, but somehow it meant more to kneel for her, without even considering her rank. These men and woman had trained together, fought together and survived together. When Gabriella had first arrived at Camp Toccoa, they had thought of her as a joke, something that would hold them back in their training. After all they had seen from her, she proved to be more than that. Instead of slowing them down, she kept pace or lead the way. She  may  have been one of the smallest, but she was not the weakest link. 

When back up arrived, so did the medical truck that was meant to take her away to a hospital back near Sturzelberg and eventually out of Germany. By now, Joe wasn't so afraid of losing her to the starvation and beatings she endured. He knew she was in good hands being in the hospital. 

"Mary, mother of God, be with Gabriella as she leaves the hellish place of war. Ensure she gets home safe to her family as we continue to move through Germany in her honor. Amen." Muck prayed as Gabriella was loaded onto yet another stretcher and gently placed in the back of the medical vehicle with a surgeon from regiment. The Toccoa men of Easy Company rose to their feet and stood in salute as they watched the medical truck drive away down the winding road. When the truck was out of sight, Major Winters saw something even more heartbreaking than the camp itself: it was the stern  hands held in salute slowly falling back down to the side of the Toccoa men that had survived Normandy, Holland, the Battle of the Bulge, Belgium in general, and now they were on a one-way track to making it home by the end of the war. 

-

**~A Week and a Half Later~**

-

Gabriella awoke in a hospital in Belgium. It had been the same hospital she had gone AWOL from in a last ditch effort to make it to Hagenau. When she woke, she was met with the harsh reality that she was in fact, alone. Something she had prevented for Joe, Muck and Penkala, and yet no one was there to return the favor. Waking up alone in the hospital had scared her more than being held captive, especially when she didn't know how long she'd been unconscious for. In fact, she hardly remembered being found in the camp aside from being moved to the truck. 

Not only was she immediately afraid when she woke up, but she was hit with a wave of brutal pain from being starved and dehydrated for so long. The amount of pain she felt would have made her cry out in pain had her throat not been so dry. And due to the extreme dehydration, she had no tears to cry either. Even the nurse couldn't calm her down as she shook like a bee in a shaken jar and cried without letting out a sound. Eventually, even the doctors couldn't do anything besides sedate her once more before she could hurt herself. 

When she woke the second time, she was in a different hospital. This time she was in France and they were still feeding fluids into her arm in an attempt to keep her alive. When she woke the second time, she was calm enough that the nurse could help her drink some water and eat some warm bread that had been freshly baked that day. Gabriella would got about two hours before eating and drinking more. A nurse had been sent to sit in her room with her, reading to her or even sitting in silence. 

"Miss. Edwards, these came in the mail for you today. Would you like me to read them for you?" The young nurse asked, her French accent as heavy as could be. Gabriella turned her head slowly to see two letters in the nurses hands. "One is from the Army Infantry and another from Sergeant Joseph Toye." She added, earning a weak nod. Smiling, she opened the first letter from regiment and began to read. 

_"Lieutenant Gabriella Edwards,_

_It is with great gratitude that we thank you for your time in service with Easy Company of the 101st Airborne Division. You have done your country a great deed in which has won the the United Stated many battles that will soon end the war. We here at regiment back in America heard of what happened to you in Hagenau and how your company had found you in that camp. Needless to say, it broke our hearts entirely. After loosing President Roosevelt, hearing of your misfortune had rid the country of any  sort of pride._

_Being the first woman to serve in the United States Army and not just as a nurse or medic, you have been rewarded a Presidential Medal of Honor on behalf of acting President Wallace. Not only had you changed his mind about fighting with the great men of America, but you've changed the minds of many great commanders and leaders, too. You have set such an example to women across the country and surely around the globe._

_We have sent a unit of doctors and nurses to bring you back to American soil where you can heal and eventually return home to your family. You have given this country a great sense of pride._

_Your family and your medal of Honor await you back home in America._

_Signed,_

_General Anthony McAuliffe."_ Reading the letter out loud had brought a pang of sadness to the heart of the young nurse, would had no clue as to what Gabriella had witnessed or endured while being stationed in Europe. And yet she was also warmhearted when she read the female Lieutenant would be receiving a medal of honor for her work as well. "Miss. Edwards, shall I read the next one?" she asked as Gabriella stared at the ceiling. When she signed the contract that sealed her spot in the army, she didn't think it would bring her to getting a medal of honor. But knowing it was from Wallace made her feel a bit better about it. Gabriella nodded slowly, signifying she would like  to hear the second letter from Joe. 

_"Dear Gabs,_

_I wrote back to your family on behalf of you and Colonel Sink. He was more upset about you being in that camp than he was that we found the camp. You sure had made a difference in his eyes and the eyes of everyone in the company. When you came to Toccoa we thought you'd be gone in a week. Gabs, you have proven us all wrong and even saved our asses on more occasions than we can remember. I hope you know that. I'm sure your family is over the moon to know you'll be returning to them soon._

_I hope you're doing alright in the hospital, which ever one you may be in. I wish I was there with you Gabs, I know how it feels to be all alone in a hospital and I would never wish anything like that upon you. Especially not after what happened. Seeing you stumbling all bloody and bruised at the back of the camp broke my heart more than you will ever know. It brought me great relief to see you being driven off in the truck because I know you'll be in good hands in the hospital and I trust your trip back to America will be a safe one. Bill and I are banking on it._

_When the war is over and the rest of us get to go home, I plan on seeing my family again; meet my sisters baby and enjoy being home for a while before making my way to New York to see you. You deserve that much._

_I'll stay in touch as much as I can. Get better soon, Gabs. I love you._

_Yours truly._

_Joe Toye."_ When the nurse finished reading the letter, Gabriella had started to shed tears no matter how dehydrated she was. The nurse was almost touched by the sweet letter written to her by her fellow partner in arms. She had sensed there was something between the Lieutenant and this Sergeant Joseph Toye just by reading a letter. She knew that it must have been rough to leave him behind even if it was to go to the  hospital. Without another word, the nurse left the letters by her bed and left the room quietly to seek isolation. The nurse locked herself in the women's bathroom of the hospital for the nurses and cried. She had only seen the aftermath of much of the war: broken bones, gun shots wounds in every place imaginable, shrapnel hits, lacerations, critical burns and dying men. Never did she think she'd see a lady soldier, not did she think she'd see the said lady soldier in so much pain because of the war. 

Gabriella's war experience had given her love, but broke her soul in return. 

**~End of Chapter 20~**


	21. Another Day, Another Hospital

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: suggestions of rape and sexual assault. Also acts of torture, abuse and misconduct. READ AT OWN RISK! Trigger parts will be in full italics sort of like memories or back stories.

**-**

**Thalem, Germany**

**-**

The letter Joe wrote home to Gabriella's family had been tougher to write than the last. In the last letter, he promised to bring her home in person. Now, he had to tell them that he was stuck in Germany while Gabriella would be sent home on a boat only to be held in a hospital for even longer. But he did keep his promise of writing immediately when they found her. Whether the letter got to them before Gabriella did was a different story. 

**'To Mr. Michael J. Edwards & Mrs. Marie-Alice Edwards,**

**It is I, Joe Toye, once more more writing to you to inform you that we have found Gabriella alive, but in the worst of circumstances. A patrol was sent out to the woods surrounding Sturzelberg, Germany- the town we were stationed in. The men on the patrol found the remains of a Concentration Camp where men from all over Germany were corralled into, worked and starved. Among these men, we found Gabriella. She was unrecognizable to even me at first. She was in such bad condition even I thought I was going to lose her. But she is stronger than many of us and will pull through, so I've heard.**

**I was told by Colonel Robert Sink that a medical team was en route to a hospital where she is being cared for. That medical team will transport her over seas and back to America where she will spend a little while in a hospital before returning to you. Myself and the rest of the Company send her back to American soil with our love and wishes of luck that she gets well sooner rather than later.**

**Despite never having met in person before, it would be an honor to, upon my arrival to the United States, take a train to your home and check up on her. It would also be an honor to meet the parents who raised the girl I've grown to love, for I believe you've raised her into one hell of a woman. And by that, I mean she is the most compassionate, caring, most determined and loving person I have probably ever met, besides my own mother.**

**I await your answer and I deeply apologize for not being able to find her sooner so that she may not be in as much pain.**

**Signed,**

**Joe Toye'.**

 

That was the last letter Joe had sent before the Company moved into the mountains of Austria where a group of Germans were holed up, ready to fight a guerrilla war. The letter he received when the European war was declared over was one he most anticipated. 

**'To S/Sergeant Joseph Toye,**

**We were more than thrilled to hear you found our dearest Gabriella. We had prayed she was still alive and your seemingly unbroken determination to find her had lifted our spirits and warmed our hearts more than you could possibly know. We received a letter from the American Military Service letting us know she was inbound shortly after we got your letter. We thank you deeply, from the bottom of our hearts for looking after our daughter. Her older sister and younger brother are simply ecstatic to know their sister will be returning, and I'm sure the twins would be too shall they be here with us.**

**As for your request to visit upon your return, we would be delighted to host you in our home. After all you've done to protect our daughter it's the least we could do. Although, we ask you visit your family first as we're sure they miss you dearly. We will write to you when we know she has returned to our home and she is in our care.**

**Our family wishes you the best of luck as you and your Company see through the end of the war, and we pray you make it back to America safe and sound. We await your arrival.**

**Sincerely,**

**Michael Sr., Marie-Alice, Evelynn & Michael Jr.' **

Joe had been so thrilled that Gabriella's family had accepted his request too visit that he even told Bill about it; he had never told him about the letter to her family in the first place. Bill was happy for the both of them, Joe and Gabriella. He knew that when they saw each other again, Joe would take care of her, seeing how she had probably seen the worst of the war and the Germans. 

 

-

**Aldbourne, England**

-

Gabriella had been moved back to the place her foreign adventure had begun in: Aldbourne, England. The small, quaint town had housed all 9 Companies at one point before they moved to Upottery Airfield and then jumped into France. Easy Company had trained there, were housed there and fooled Captain Sobel there. Upon Gabriella's arrival, she was placed in the medical care of the same family she and Bill had been quartered with: the Smith family. Although it was just Mrs. Smith and her youngest daughter now (her husband died in the First World War, her eldest son died of pneumonia, her youngest son died in Normandy and her eldest daughter died at the hands of a drunk husband), they wasted no time in caring for the sickly war veteran. 

Since leaving Germany, Gabriella developed a case of pneumonia and had troubles keeping food and fluids in her stomach. The cut on her left knee and the scraping on her left foot had gotten slightly infected which lead to Mrs. Smith and her daughter to rinse the wounds 5 times a day, every day until the infection was gone; and by the time the medical team from America arrived the infection was very close to being gone. 

Gabriella hadn't spoken a word since she left the comfort and safety of Joe's arms in the  back of the truck. She barely looked at anyone, just stared at a wall unless they positioned her so she could stare out the window. The constant night terrors meant she was always given a sedative before falling asleep for the night, but it had only minimized the affects of the nightmares and she still woke screaming something fierce. It was a smart idea to station her in a house far away from many other houses for this reason. 

The only time the nightmares died down was on the boat, as if Gabriella could sense she was leaving the hell a normal person would call Europe. The medical team continued to rinse the infected wounds and change the dressing on them. Gabriella still wouldn't talk, even when the nurse read her the 'Honorable Discharge' letter that came directly from Wallace instead of a military personnel like many of the Honorable Discharge letters came from. The rest of Easy Company that would make it home would get a discharge letter from a military person of some kind, but not Gabriella. 

The nurses would continue to talk to Gabriella although their efforts were futile. They asked her how she was doing every time they checked on her even though they knew she wasn't going to reply. What they didn't know was that the things Gabriella had seen were replaying on a loop in her mind, including the time she spent captive. 

~

_Like the Lieutenant promised, Gabriella was moved to a nicer place than the cold metal room that lay empty. She had been moved from Hagenau to Germany all while being unconscious. The Germans had some pretty powerful sedatives, she had to admit. Even though she knew she was vulnerable if she was unconscious._

_The room she was in now was in a fancy building, she could tell. Probably a government building of sorts where important government or military would stay or work. In this case, it was where an entire militia had stayed. And Gabriella had been locked in a tiny room, chained to a bolt in the floor. She could only lay on the couch, sit in front of the desk or sit in front of the fire. The Germans were nice enough to give her books in English, but they burned them after she had finished them. The food they gave her couldn't even be considered food, either. The stuff she was fed in Toccoa was better than this shit._

_"Dinner time, Fraulein." The English-speaking Lieutenant usually didn't bring her her meals nor did he come up to the room. She also didn't get fed much. Both of these thoughts had bothered her to full extent. He seemed more suspicious. "You look tense." He stated, setting the metal tray on the desk and approaching her spot standing in front of the fire place. The fire pokers and pure iron rods were out of her reach or she probably would have used them already to try and escape. "You should relax." He told her, grabbing her by the hips. her hands were bound by the chains which meant no using hands to defend herself. The look of lust in his eyes scared her. She remembered the talk she had with Bill outside the tavern after they were granted their jump wings. She took a good guess as to what could happen in the next minute or so._

_"Don't touch me, perverser abschaum." She hissed. One of the books she was given happened to be a German to English translation book which she studied a bit of. The remark earned her a slap to the cheek before the same hand reached behind her and groped the left side of her bottom. Gabriella was rendered defenseless as shock took over._

_"You will learn your place, Fraulein." He whispered in her ear before dragging her over to the desk and throwing her into it. "Your men can't help you here. Not the man you sacrificed yourself for, not the man you were reunited with and not the man you left behind in the hospital." He taunted, hauling her to her feet and pushing her into the desk. The chains prevented her from hitting him at all as he forcibly spread her legs. The only thing stopping him was her trousers. "You belong to us, and we will use you how we please." He said, sending a wave of fear through her as he hand got loser to the forbidden area. She tensed as his hand reached where the bullet had grazed her thigh in Bastogne before reflexes forced her to send a knee to his groin. He doubled over in pain and stepped back from her and the desk._

_"You little nutzlose hure!" He growled, still bent over in pain. "Wachen! Komm rein und schlag diese verdammte schlampe zu Brei!" He called, possibly to the men outside the room. In a blaze of fury, four men rushed into the room and and the first one hit Gabriella with a cane, knocking her to the ground. The English-speaking Lieutenant watched as his men beat the defenseless woman until she was gasping for air and blood covered most of her showing skin._

_"This was a warning. Next time you try to defy me, it'll be worse." He threatened. And it was._

_Gabriella fought back every time the Lieutenant tried to get his way with her and every time, the guards would beat her to a pulp. No matter how much pain she was in, she didn't let the disgraceful Lieutenant stick his dick anywhere near her._

_~_

Gabriella had made the mistake of bottling every thing inside instead of telling someone what happened to her. She was probably going to keep it like that until she saw Joe again.  _Oh, how she missed him._ Before she reached America, she was able to recall what happened in the camp. 

She was beaten, dragged into the camp and beaten some more. The men in the camp crowded around her in curiosity before some of them were pushed into the shacks and set ablaze. Gabriella couldn't do much besides lay on the ground at the back of the camp and cry as the men around her were shot and burned alive. Their screams of agony and pain would haunt her for the rest of her days. When the guards left that day, she managed to push herself up and find a stick to use as a cane. Her left leg was in too bad of shape to be any good so she dragged it behind her her as she scoped out the damage left behind by the Germans. Why she was in a men's camp was beyond her. How her Company had found her was also unimaginable. And now she was heading home, before any of them got the chance to. 

This thought had sent her into shut down. She tossed her head from side to side as the nurses tried to calm her down. For the first time since leaving the camp had she used her voice, but it wasn't pretty. 

"They didn't deserve it! None of them deserved any of this!" She croaked and cried over and over again as she fought against the strength of the nurse and doctors trying to hold her still for one doctor go get a sedative in. She felt more guilt than anything. She was going home before any of her friends, she was making it home unlike those she watched die in battle or to the cold of Bastogne and Foy. She felt guilt that she, of all people in this war, had survived. She had let her self fall to the grasp of guilt and despair long before she was in Germany captivity. 

-

When the ship docked in the New York naval shipyard once more, Gabriella was just coming back from the sedative given after her little fit. She was tied to a stretcher- to prevent an outburst again and to prevent her from falling off the stretcher- as they carried her off the ship and across the designated shipyard area. People stood watch as they saw her and countless other men being carried into trucks to be brought to the nearest hospital. The onlookers were children, women, men who didn't serve in the war and men who served but were sent home for injury. They all watched, but the men who once served, both in this war and the last, stood in salute to the men and woman being carried to the trucks. Some of the men being carried saluted back if they had the strength. The others, did not. Including Gabriella, who cried when she saw Wallace standing in front of the crowd, surrounded by security. 

When she arrived in the hospital, she was situated in a room by herself. She was given her hourly dose of water and bread before the nurse put the needle back in her arm to drip fluids into her bloodstream to help get her strength back. And then she was alone. She was placed in a room with a window and was propped up so she had perfect view of the bustling city outside. She had grown up in these parts, learned here and loved here. She finished high school here before being given the opportunity to work in the White House. Shortly after beginning her career, she got married and had a child, a child who had surely forgotten about her. 

"Hey, there's someone here to see you." One of the nurses spoke, waking Gabriella from her trance. She turned her head from the window to the door of the room to see Wallace standing in the doorway. The nurse left soon after, leaving her and Wallace in the room. 

"Gabriella Edwards. You've done more than we could have asked from you, I hope you know that." He began, bring a chair over to her bedside and sitting down. He wore the typical suit he wore every day, but his facial expressions were so mixed Gabriella couldn't tell what he was feeling. "You've made us all prouder than Hell and if Roosevelt were here he'd say the same thing." He told her, tears starting to fill his eyes. "He wrote this shortly before he died. He knew he wasn't going to make it to see you come back." He said, pulling an envelope out of his pocket and setting it on the bed side table. Gabriella didn't speak a word, only nodded. 

"I was skeptical about letting you join the army at first because I didn't think women could fight alongside the men. You proved me wrong. And now looking back, I should have been more skeptical to let you join in fear something like would happen to you. When we heard the word that you had been captured, the White House shut down for an entire day. Someone we knew well, someone we worked with everyday for years had been captured by our long time enemy." He continued, pulling a handkerchief from his breast pocket to wipe his eyes. "Even if you didn't make it out alive, I still would have given you a Medal of Honor. You have taken a concept that was scrapped up in two days and forged it into something amazing." He added. Gabriella had completely forgotten about the Medal of Honor, she had dreaded receiving it because she knew there were people more deserving of it. People like Major Winters or Captain Spiers. 

"I'm proud of you, Edwards. I'm sure Roosevelt is too, God rest his soul." He said, wiping the last tears from his eyes before putting his handkerchief away and standing up. "You deserve to be home, and you deserve every ounce of respect, gratitude and recognition you get." He told her, pulling a box out of his pocket, opening it and placing it next to the letter. She looked over and saw it was the Medal of Honor. "You have this and a collection of Purple Hearts, I think 4 to be exact." He said, pulling the chair away from her bedside and turning back to her. "You get well soon, kid. When you're ready, your position in the White House will be there shall you choose to want it back." He informed her before giving a salute and leaving the room. Gabriella hadn't spoken when  he was here, but man did she wish she had. She had so many things to say, to tell about her time overseas. She had been gone almost 3 years and she  had so much to say, and yet she didn't- she couldn't. Taking one last look at the Medal of Honor sitting next to her, she let herself fall into another fit of tears and sobbing until the  nurses came back. This time, Gabriella clung to the first nurse, the one who had read to her time and time again, as the nurse let her cry onto her shoulder. 

"Sshh, sshh, shh. You're okay, everything is okay." The nurse cooed softly, rocking side to side gently as to calm the hysterical mess in her arms. The nurse motioned for the doctor to leave and not inject Gabriella with the sedative again. She figured the less they try to sedate her, the sooner she'll recover, and she prayed she was right. "Everything is going to be okay." The nursed whispered as Gabriella continued to sob through the pain and guilt she was feeling. She was haunted by Carentan, she was haunted by every hospital and Aid Station she was in and she was haunted by the fact she could have lost her friends in Foy. So many good men that she had the honor to meet had died for something so stupid, so useless. Men had their souls torn apart by this fucking war and there was no replacing or fixing the damage already inflicted. Men like Blithe, Tipper, Smokey, Hoobler, Buck, and Heyliger had been torn apart, killed or died because of this war and its environment. People like Gabriella, Bill Gaurnere, Joe Toye, George Luz, Frank Perconte, Warren Muck, Alex Penkala, Bull Randleman, Donald Malarkey, and many others would not walk into their family homes the same person. They all left one way and came back completely different people. Their souls crushed, hearts broken and minds haunted by memories, violent flashbacks and nightmares. Gabriella's heart ached for her friends and her heart ached for herself. She never thought she'd be in a hospital, crying on a nurses shoulder over something so terrible like war.

Thinking back, she should have stayed _home_.

**~End of Chapter 21~**


	22. Home

**-**

**New York, USA**

**-**

The first thing Gabriella saw when she was let out of the hospital were men and women cheering for her and the other men being released as they walked through the front doors. Gabriella had spent two weeks eating, drinking water, taking vitamins and trying to walk on her own. Even with help she felt hopeless, but after the two long weeks, she was able to walk on her own after being bed ridden for weeks on end. When she left the hospital, she was given a new formal OD uniform, complete with her decorated Lieutenant pins. After every thing she'd been through, she  still didn't believe she deserved any of them. She was the most decorated soldier walking out of that hospital that day. The men were waving at the people on the street as they headed for the train station, many of them donning their Purple Heart(s) on their jackets. Gabriella had her Medal of Honor and Purple Hearts tucked away in her small duffel bag. Much of her stuff was shipped back over to America with her, but she gave anything she didn't need or want back to the military, with was pretty much all except her dog tags. She wore those out in the open with pride, they were the only things she felt proud about. They signified that she has joined the army, trained and fought as a paratrooper and suffered with the rest of the military. They didn't show her rank, her wounds or her medals of any kind. Aside from her dog tags, she also had her pistol that her family had given to her before she departed from Washington. 

"Lieutenant Edwards, we have a car to take you to your parents house." A military man told her as she stepped away from the group of men leaving the hospital. They would all get on a train and go back to their home towns, live nice happy lives and grow old with their wives. Gabriella would go home, sulk for a bit and try to reconnect with her own daughter and try to be the mother she never really was. 

Gabriella followed the man as people around her cheered and saluted her, but she ignored them. She  tried to block out the noise, but there was so many people yelling and reaching for her it was hard to do. But eventually, she made it to the vehicle where she threw her bag in the back seat and stood facing the man. 

"Thank you, Lieutenant. You've given my daughters an excellent role model." He told her before giving a salute. Even with minimal energy, she still returned the salute before sitting down in the car. Her wounds were nothing but scars and scratches now. The occasional time during the day they would ache and hit her with a brutal reminder of what she'd been through. She thought about them for a bit before pushing them to the back of her mind. Leaving the hospital, she was still weak and any muscle strength she once had was gone. She was quiet now. Before she wasn't afraid to speak her mind and now, she was silent. She hadn't spoken to anybody since the mishap on the boat and even then, it wasn't considered talking. The last time she spoke was to Joe in the back of that truck outside that camp. 

-

When the car approached the small farmhouse, Gabriella spotted two crossed in front of the porch, both with the names of the twins engraved on them. She was hit with sudden realization that she would have to attend their funeral soon since her family hadn't put one on yet. She eyed up the property and sighed; Michael Jr's bike was sitting in front of the porch stairs like usual and her fathers truck was parked in its usual spot. 

"Here you are, miss." The driver said, putting the car in park and turning to face Gabriella in the back seat. "You made one fine soldier, your name will be remembered for years to come." He told her. With a nod and a forced smile, Gabriella grabbed her bag and left the car, shutting the door on the way out. Her hair had been pulled back into a tight bun and her clothes were clean. She still has a bandage around her foot and her knee to prevent the ointment from touching her clothes. The wounds there were nothing more than scrapes, but the ointment prevented possible infection return. 

As the car pulled away from the house, Gabriella was left standing in the driveway. Her heart beat faster than it did in combat and faster than it did when she and Joe shared their first kiss.  _She was returning to her family._ She hesitated before taking a step towards the house, and then another, and another, and finally she was at the steps, looking up at the front door. It was the same brown-painted door that greeted her when she brought Eliza home to her parents for the first time after she had been born. Now, as she climbed the steps, she remembered all the happy memories she had of  her home and they overpowered the memories from war. 

_Tap, tap, tap._

She knocked three times and waited. Her boots weren't covered in mud for once, but she still felt dirty. She felt like an impostor in her own family home. She looked up from the ground as the door opened slowly, revealing her older sister Evelynn. 

"Gabri, you're home." She breathed, standing in shock as she eyed her sisters military get-up. "You're okay." She said as Gabriella fell  into the arms of her older sister, sniffling as she tried not to cry. "Oh, God, I've missed you so much." Evelynn whispered as she pulled her sister in tight, not wanting to let her go again. 

"You have no idea how much I missed my family." Gabriella cried, pulling herself away to wipe her eyes. Her sister looked healthy and happy, which gave Gabriella a sense of relief as she assumed her Frenchman for a husband was treating her well. 

"Come in, Gabriella. Everyone is waiting." She said, waving for her younger sister to come inside before shutting the door behind both of them. The next person to greet Gabriella was Michael Jr.

"G, I can't believe it." He said, running up to his older sister as they pulled each other into a hug. By now, he had outgrown Gabriella by a few inches. Last time she saw him, she had still been taller. 

"My God, you've grown so much, baby brother." She chuckled through tears. For once she wasn't afraid and she felt welcomed. 

"But I'm still your baby brother, G." He sniffled as a pair of footsteps entered the house through the back door. The two parted as Gabriella's gaze met that of her fathers, Michael Sr. At first, he stood in shock as if he wasn't expecting his daughter to be home today. Before long, the look of shock had changed to that of sympathetic pride. 

"My little girl, back home finally." He said, starting to get emotional as Gabriella practically ran the 5 feet in between them before falling into her fathers arms. 

"I missed you so much, Papa." She cried once more as he clung to his daughter as if he was never going to see her again. 

"Oh, darling. I've missed you too." He said, tears falling from his eyes as well. Gabriella had felt peace for the first time since she left Camp Toccoa. Being back home has sparked a new sense of happiness and relief within her. She parted from her fathers embrace a complete mess. Her strong composure was gone and she wanted nothing more than to be held by her family for the rest of eternity. When they parted, both their heads turned to see Mrs. Edwards and Gabriella's daughter, Eliza. She was four years old now, learned to talk and could spot her mother in a picture, but it seemed that seeing her in person made her shy. 

"Look, El. It's your mom." Mrs. Edwards whispered, kneeling down to the child's level. Gabriella looked at her daughter with regret. She had missed the most important years of a child's life because of her career and spontaneous adventure. Gabriella knelt down to her knees as she held her arms out for her child. Eliza had gone from shy to desperate as she ran into Gabriella's arms, 

"My baby, you've gotten so big." Gabriella whispered, trying not the cry in front of her daughter. Eliza's little arms didn't have the power to hold on tight to Gabriella, but Gabriella had a hold so strong on her daughter nothing could break them apart. "I missed you so much, Eliza." She whispered once more, planting a kiss on the top of the child's head. 

"I missed you, too, mommy." Eliza cried softly as Gabriella stood up off the ground, holding her daughter to her body as Mrs. Edwards approached. 

"My sweet girl, you've returned to us just like you said." She said, pulling her daughter and her granddaughter into a hug. Gabriella had one arm around her daughter and another around her mother as she let her tears fall. 

"I was so scared, Mama. Being over there....it was horrible." Gabriella cried into her mothers shoulder as Mrs. Edwards rubbed her back gently. The soothing feel of a mothers touch is one to be desired when faced with certain circumstances like war. Gabriella had finally gotten her wish to be in her mothers safe embrace once more, except this time she also had her daughter in a safe embrace. Three generations in one safe embrace was something deemed underappreciated by many when they realize their time had run out. 

"You don't have to worry about that anymore, my sweet girl. You are safe with us. We will nurse you back to health and watch as you raise your daughter to be as great a girl as you." Mrs. Edwards soothed. Gabriella lifted her head to look into her mothers caring eyes. They were the same eyes that saw 5 kids grow up before her eyes and before she knew it, her daughter was off to the fight in a war. 

"I'm so sorry for leaving you with the responsibility of raising my daughter the last couple years. I should have been here for her, for all of you. If I hadn't left, the twins would still be here." Gabriella cried as Michael Sr. took Eliza into his arms, he sensed his daughter was going into hysterics soon and he was right. 

"My dear, you did what you had to to provide for your daughter. You worked so that she may have a life, even if it meant you couldn't be here." Mrs. Edwards soothed as Gabriella found herself on her knees, crying at her mothers feet. "And don't you dare blame yourself for their deaths. You did what you thought was right and the only ones to blame are the rebels who trespassed and committed cold-blooded murder. None of it was your fault." She reassured, placing a stern hand on Gabriella's shoulder as Evelynn knelt down beside her as well. 

"You've given girls and young women all around the motivation and encouragement to pursue better lives and better use of their talents, much like you did. And leaving Eliza in our care has given me the opportunity to experience whats it's like to be a mother as I prepare to be one myself." She told her younger sister, who looked up at the end of her sentence. 

"You're...?" Was all Gabriella could get out before Evelynn nodded. This must have become a surprise to everyone since the other three looked at her with the same shocked expression. 

"I found out I was pregnant the same day I found out my baby sister was coming home to us. Before now, that would have been the best day of my life. Now, seeing you in the safety of our home is even better." She said before hugging her sister as Junior knelt down beside both of them, followed by Mrs. Edwards and Michael Sr. who still had Eliza in his arms. 

"This day just keeps getting better and better." He said, tears  freshly rolling down his rosy cheeks as the family shared one big embrace, not only welcoming Gabriella back home after her time away, but congratulating the eldest Edwards child as she brought the news of a new addition. 

-

Later that night, Gabriella sat on the couch with Eliza listening to the radio in peace. Mrs. Edwards and Evelynn were in the kitchen making dinner while both Michael's were busy either doing homework or fixing something in the old pick-up truck outside. The radioman spoke of the weather forecast, local news and what not before another man spoke of military news. 

 _"Following the surrender of the German army and the Nazi people, Japan has surrendered its military power to the Allied Forces, therefore ending the war as we know it._ The man spoke, gaining the attention of everyone is the house.  _"Our men in Europe who were preparing to embark on a journey to the Pacific to force the Japanese surrender are now preparing to come home. So let's hang the  victory banners, crack out the bottle of wine you've been saving since Christmas in '39 and be ready to welcome the rest of our boys back home. God knows they deserve it."_ The man said before the radio broadcast was over. Michael Jr. ran out of the house to tell Michael Sr. the good news as Evelynn and Mrs. Edwards celebrated in the kitchen. Eliza didn't know what it meant, but Gabriella did. Easy Company would be coming home.  _She would get to see Joe soon._  

"Mommy, what did the man mean?" Eliza asked, looking up at her mother. 

"It means there doesn't have to be anymore fighting." She answered without thinking before looking down at her child. "It means you get to meet someone very special to me very soon." She added with a smile. 

"Who, mommy?" She asked once more. 

"Did Grandma ever read to you the letters I sent home?" Eliza nodded, her little toddler mind trying to recall anything from the letters. "Well I mentioned a good friend of mine in one of the letters, Joe Toye. He wrote to me while I was in the hospital saying he was coming to visit when he got back home." 

"Did he fight with you?" 

"Yes, he did, my love. But he's more than just someone I fought with, dear. Especially now that the war is over."  _He always will be something more to her._

**~End of Chapter 22~**


	23. The Wars End

**-**

**New York, USA**

**-**

When the Edwards family sat down for dinner the night Gabriella got home, they didn't expect much when she only ate a little bit. Eating too much still hurt the poor girl after being starved so severely. Her mother and Evelynn had prepared her favorite meal: mashed potatoes with roast chicken and an array of cooked vegetables. Gabriella took what she could eat as to not waste anything. The meal had been small, but a welcoming change of pace for the war-torn girl. Gabriella didn't talk much during the meal either. She ate in silence as her family spoke of things that happened while she was gone, but they made sure to only  mention the good things and not anything that might sadden the girl anymore than  she already was. 

"Johnny Walker bet me five bucks that I would fail my math test at the end of the school year and you know what I did?" Michael Jr. told the story of his school-yard rival. 

"What did you do?" Gabriella questioned before picking at her vegetables. 

"I passed with 87 percent." He announced proudly as the rest of them laughed. Even after they were done eating, the two Edwards children told stories of anything they could think of to tell their sister as Eliza went to play with her dolls in the living room while Mr. and Mrs. Edwards cleaned up the kitchen together. 

"It seems I've missed a lot of fun, eh?" Gabriella concluded, taking a sip of the wine her mother left behind, only to make a face at it. Gabriella hadn't been much of a wine drinker and the one time she did, she made sure she had started with whiskey. 

"Evelynn, would you mind going outside and watering my flower garden once more. I don't think we'll be getting rain tonight." Mrs. Edwards asked of her eldest, although it was more like she was telling her to do it. 

"Sure, I'll be back." Evelynn said, wiping her mouth on her napkin before standing up and leaving the table. Her barely noticeable bump was easier to see by her family know that she had given the news and everyone was over the moon. Evelynn had always been the caring type and everyone thought she would have been a nurse. Gabriella always thought her older sister would be a better mom than she ever will be and even though Evelynn hadn't had her baby yet, Gabriella could still learn a thing or two from her if needed. 

Gabriella had brought plates and dinnerware to the wash sink where her mother stood scrubbing the dishes before handing them to Michael Sr., who dried them with a clean towel before placing them in respective piles to be put away. Eventually, they kicked Gabriella out of the kitchen and told her to relax about finally being home. Michael Jr. took over on the helping department and Gabriella retreated to the living room and took her spot on the far-right end of the couch as Eliza played with her dolls on the floor. The radio was still playing soft music for the night and Gabriella felt herself starting to drift closer to sleep. It was harder for her to stay up late anymore, but she was sure that once she was back to physical normal late nights would be easy. Before she could fall asleep on the couch it was close to 8 o'clock that evening, which  happened to be Eliza's bedtime. 

"Come upstairs, Eliza. It's time for bed." Gabriella spoke softly, holding back a yawn. Gabriella helped her put away her dolls and toys for the night before carrying her upstairs to her room. Eliza had shared a room with the twins before and now the room had been practically emptied. The beds were probably sold, but the dressers and clothes still remained. Gabriella helped get Eliza into her nightgown before taking her to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Before long, she was tucking the little girl into bed for the night. 

"When will your friend be here?" She asked as Gabriella reached for the chain on the lamp. 

"I'm not sure, baby. He still has to go home and see his family first." She answered. Being home and finally getting to take care of her daughter helped distract her from what had happened previously. "Now, you get some sleep. I'll answer any of your questions in the morning,  little mouse." She said softly before planting a kiss on Eliza's forehead and shutting off the light. 

"Good night, mommy." 

"Good night, baby." Gabriella left the room and left the door open only a sliver before shutting the hallway light off and retiring to her room for the night. Everything was just as she'd left it when she left their house the last time she visited. Except there was more boxes in the corner and Gabriella knew it was from her apartment. All her clothes were still hung in the closet and her bed had fresh sheets on it. 

Instead of  changing and going to bed right away, Gabriella opened some of the boxes and put some things away. She hung her clothes in the already filled closet and even folded some and placed them  in the dresser. She organized her picture frames either on the wall or propped up on the nightstands before a soft knock came to the door. 

"Gabriella, are you still awake?" Mrs. Edwards asked, opening the door a bit.

"Yes, mom. Just organizing a few things." She answered as her mom entered the room. 

"We brought everything from the apartment. We didn't know what you would want to keep and what you would want to give away." She told her, picking up one of the dresses that lay on the bed. It was red on the outside, but there was black underneath the skirt. Gabriella hadn't worn it when she was with her previous husband even though she bought it for that reason. "You should wear this for when your friend stops by. I'm sure he'd love it." Her mother said jokingly as she set the dress back on the bed. 

"He's more than just a friend, mom." Gabriella told her with a sly grin. She hadn't told her family about what happened in the hospital and she wasn't sure what he had told them in his letters. 

"I know, dear. We got that from his letters. He spoke so fondly of you, how you have his heart forever. He seems like a sweet man." She continued, helping Gabriella put some dresses on hangers and hang them in the closet. 

"He is." She started before remembering the times he was also stubborn or a pain in the ass, like the times when they were stationed in Schoonderlogt or in Driel. "But he can also be a big pain in the ass." She chuckled, remembering the time he brought prisoners back on a patrol and wouldn't stop talking about it. 

"How so?" Her mother asked curiously, probably hoping to hear something about her time overseas. 

"Well, we were stationed in a small town named Driel. The two of us found an empty house to sack up in, but there was constant patrols going on and somehow he was always on daytime patrols while I was on the night patrols." She started, smiling about the memory. It seemed to be the only good memory she could think of. "He came back from a patrol early and he had a bunch of Kraut prisoners for questioning. He walked down the street towards CP with the biggest grin on his face and after he dropped off the prisoners he came back and boasted about them for days." She finished with a chuckle. 

"Oh, men will be like that. Your father was the exact same way, you know." Mrs. Edwards stated as they hung up the last few pieces of clothing in the closet and stacked the empty boxes in the corner of the room. "I can't wait to meet him, dear. You two seem to get along wonderfully." She told her before placing a kiss on her forehead. "Get some sleep, dear. You can tell me more in the morning." 

"Good night, mom." She said as her mother left the room. 

"Good night, dear." Her mother shut the door and once again Gabriella was left alone with her thoughts running rapid. She slipped out of her formal uniform and hung it up in the closet where it was out of sight and out of mind. She changed into her silk nightgown that fit a bit too big than it had previously, but it was the least of her worries. She shut the main light off before turning on the lamp next to the bed. She found the letter Wallace left her with and crawled into bed to read it. The warm sheets were more than delightful after sleeping in foxholes and on the ground for the last couple years. She opened the envelope and pulled out two pieces of paper, both sides of each paper completely filled with words. 

**'Dear Gabriella Edwards,**

**It is with great sorrow that I write to you to tell you that my time is almost up. But, it is with great pride that I write to  you to tell you how proud I am of all you've done. You were the shining star of this concept and you brought it farther than we expected it to go. Everyone here at the White House is proud to have known such a great person as you are. You've worked in this office despite all the troubles you've gone through and you continue to amaze us with  your work. You've become the talk of the century.**

**You left this office with intentions to make it through training camp. From there, we sat back and watched as you were promoted from Private First Class to Corporal. You did your duties with pristine marksmanship and great amounts of pride. Hearing your success was better than anything and I knew from the minute you left this office that I wouldn't regret sending you to Toccoa.**

**From Corporal to Sergeant, you lead a platoon with your fellow Sergeant, Bill Guarnere. I gained word that you two were the finest soldiers to ever come out of that camp, along with Sergeant Joseph Toye. The three of you fought against all odds and made your families and your country proud to be protected by you. You helped lead Easy Company to victory countless times as you lay your life on the line time and time again.**

**After hearing of your dedication to the company, it only seemed fitting that you be a Lieutenant. You had leadership skills like no other and to hear something like that from a man like Major Winters had made us cheer with joy as one of the assistants read the letter out loud to us. Your military career has earned you a great reputation and I'm sure that young women across this great country are looking up to you, as your story continues to inspire.**

**Despite your great achievements, there was of course the downfalls. It pained us to know of how many wounds you obtained and how one of your fellow Lieutenants had damn near worked you to death. But now, you won't have to worry about any of that. Although I won't be here to greet you on your arrival home, please know you've made me one hell of a proud boss. You've changed the minds of everyone, including Wallace. I've made sure he is to be there when you arrive on American soil, no matter the conditions. You deserve such  greeting for doing what you've done.**

**As you continue your life at home, please remember how you've shaped the views of this country. And remember that this all started with your determination and your will to work hard. There is a reason you have lived to see the end of the war and you deserve a long, happy life with your daughter. And as I feel my time is nearly up, it pains me to not be able to say any of these words to you in person, but my health is declining. I guess all that's left to say is thank you.**

**Thank you for giving me the opportunity to present and defend such a military concept. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to do something even better with my presidential power. Thank you for showing me how strong-willed the people of this country can be. Thank you for showing me first hand what greatness and success really looks like.**

**May God watch over you as you come back to America and may the Lord bless your soul for the rest of your days. You deserve everything good this great country has to give after you gave your life to fight for our freedom.**

**Signed,**

**Franklin Delano Roosevelt.'**

By the end of the letter, Gabriella was in tears. She didn't think her work overseas would have such an impact on life here in America. The way she saw it was she was just another pawn in the war-time game. She was just as brave, just as strong and just as compassionate as the rest of the men she fought beside, may God rest their weary souls. 

It took Gabriella a little while to calm down. It was hard since she was muffling her sobs with her blanket as to not alert her family, but what she didn't know is that they already knew. They left her alone, not wanting to make anything worse or invade her privacy so when she did calm down, they all went back to their rooms. Gabriella threw the letter on her nightstand and turned to her side, silently crying into her pillow. She never wanted to experience anything she did over in Europe and yet she had. But if she hadn't gone to Europe or even Camp Toccoa, she would have never met Joe. She probably would never find love to replace her previous husband if she hadn't taken a step to accept the offer. Although, finding love was not her first intention when she signed the contract. In fact, she didn't know what her first intention even was. All she knew was that the war and her stupid decision to join it brought her pain and happiness all at once. 

-

The next morning, Gabriella was woken up by the cheerful laughter of her daughter jumping on her bed. It startled her at first, but once she realized she was still at home in her bed, she relaxed and pulled Eliza in for a hug. 

"Good morning, little mouse." She said as Eliza wrapped her short arms around her mothers neck. "Is grandma making breakfast?" She asked earning a giggle from the small girl who looked almost exactly like Gabriella had when she  was the same age. 

"That's why I woke you up." Gabriella smiled at the cheerful attitude of her daughter and was relieved she wasn't rejected by her like she had thought. Turns out, her family did a wonderful job of not letting Eliza forget about her and for that she was grateful. 

"Why don't you go save me a spot at the table and I'll be down in a minute." She said with a smile. 

"Okay." As Gabriella sat up in bed, Eliza jumped off and ran back downstairs to the dining room. Gabriella threw the covers off her and swung her legs over the edge of her bed. She was almost confused when she didn't see her muddy boots sitting parallel to the bed or her rifle standing up against the wall or nightstand. She was confused when she noticed she was wearing her silk nightgown instead of muddy OD's. And then she remembered the war was over and she didn't have to continue to the jarring routine she carried out in Europe. 

Letting out a sigh of relief, Gabriella pushed herself off the bed and wandered over to the closet and picked out an outfit. It had been a long time since she had to decided what to wear for the day and it was a tough decision. Eventually, she settled on her grey trousers she had for working the outside and her blue button up. She pulled off her nightgown and hung it on the back of her door for tonight. She pulled the trousers over her bandaged and bruised legs before leaving them unbuttoned as she pulled a white wife-beater over her torso before the blue button up. She tucked the end of both shirts into her pants before buttoned up her trousers and pulling the black suspenders over her shoulders. She didn't own a belt that fit anymore so suspenders seemed  to be a reasonable last-resort to keeping her pants up since all her clothes were a tad to big. When she was dressed, she brushed her hair out at her vanity and pulled it back into a bun and left her room in bare feet. The wood floors felt weird to her when she first took her boots off yesterday, but by morning she was more than used to it. When she walked into the kitchen, her mother had just set the plates at the table for a pancake breakfast. 

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Her father greeted, taking his eyes off the morning paper for the first time this morning. 

"Would you like some coffee, dear?" Her mother asked, moving back to the counter. The kitchen and the dinning room were connected and the only thing separating the two from the living room was the foyer. When you walked into their house, you would be met by the sweet aroma of Mrs. Edwards cooking or baking. When you walk in, the stairs leading up to the second floor were  right in front of you and to the left of them was the kitchen and dinning room and to  the  right was the living room and the hall that led to the shared study. Behind the stairs was the back door that led to the back deck and the huge backyard, complete with Mrs. Edwards' gardens. If you went up the stairs, Michael Jr's room was to the left and Eliza's was to the right. At the end of the hall, you had Gabriella's room and a second stair case that led to Evelynn's room and the master bed room with a connected bathroom. There was a second bathroom in between Gabriella's room and Junior's room and a smaller bathroom downstairs for guests to use. 

"No thanks, mom. Can't drink coffee anymore." Gabriella hardly drank coffee before the war, but after her run-in with the Germans, the starvation ruined coffee for her forever. 

"I'll make you some tea, then. Tea will help you better than coffee will anyway." She told her with a smile. Gabriella only nodded seeing how she agreed with her. She sat down at the table in the same spot as last night: to the left of her father with Evelynn directly across from her and Eliza to the left of Gabriella. Mrs. Edwards sat at the other end of the table with Michael Jr. to her left. The two chairs the twins sat in were moved to the shed outside. 

"How'd you sleep last night?" her father asked, wary of his daughters stability. 

"Good. Sleeping in an actual bed for once was nice." She answered as her mother placed a tea cup above her plate before coming back with the kettle of hot water. 

"It sounded like you were crying last night. Is everything alright?" Her mother asked carefully. Gabriella took in a breath as Michael Jr. sat down at the table, Evelynn still in the kitchen. 

"Roosevelt wrote a letter to me before he died. Wallace left it with me in the hospital and I read it last night. It was just a bit too much at the time, but it's alright now." She explained as her mother placed a tea bag in her cup. 

"President Roosevelt." Her father sighed, shaking his head. "May God rest his soul." He prayed, turning back to his newspaper. Mrs. Edwards put the kettle back on the stove as Evelynn finished cooking the eggs. The two dished up plates for everyone and brought them to the table before bringing over their own. The two had prepared pancakes, eggs and potatoes; just like Gabriella had done for Bill and Joe in France. While everyone began eating, Gabriella sat staring at her food with a small smile, remembering that morning. Bill was the only one to get dressed before leaving his room that morning. Gabriella hadn't changed out of her sleeping attired and Joe was reading the newspaper in his skivvies. It was a weird morning. 

"Is something wrong, dear?" Mrs. Edwards asked, setting her fork down. Gabriella snapped from her trance and smiled up at her mother. 

"Yeah, it's fine." She said, turning back to her plate and picking up her fork. "Just reminds me of something, is all." She finished with a chuckle, remembering the entire trip to Paris. 

"You wanna tell us?" Evelynn asked in between chewing on a piece of pancake. 

"When I was first promoted to Lieutenant, I was given three passes to Paris so I took Bill and Joe with me. Bill was fresh out of the hospital too. He went AWOL while we were stationed in Mourmelon." She started, stabbing a fried potato with her fork. "The first morning we were there I made this exact meal before we caught a movie." She finished as started to eat. 

"You're a natural caretaker, my girl. Just like your sister. And your mother." Her father spoke up, sipping his coffee. "Men like myself are lucky that women like you are for us so much. Paul and this Joe guy are lucky to have found girls like you two." He added, pointing his fork at the two of them. Paul was Evelynn's husband. Paul St. Pierre was born in America after his family moved from France. He was the youngest of 8 and he married the eldest of 5. He worked as a carrier, driving around the state for a while before coming home. When he was gone, Evelynn was at her parents house more than she was at her own house that she shared with  Paul and soon to share with their baby. 

"Joe didn't really find me, dad. Him and a few other guys approached me when I first arrived at camp and showed me around because I was lost." She told him as she poured syrup on her pancake. 

"Either way, him and your friend Bill are lucky to have a friend like you if you make them breakfast like this." He continued. Michael Sr. wanted nothing but the best for his girls. He didn't have to worry so much about Evelynn now that she was married to a man with a good job. He just had to worry about Gabriella and how this Joe guy was around his daughter. On the side, he also had to worry about his son being stupid and not breaking a girls heart. 

"I think you guys will like Joe." Gabriella stated, nodding as she ate. The rest of the morning meal consisted of Junior complaining about being an adult soon and how he still hasn't found a girl yet. Gabriella applauded him for taking more consideration with his school work than romance. The smarter the man, the better he can provide for a girl. 

"Mom, you need any help cleaning up?" Gabriella asked as she set her plate by the sink. 

"No, no, dear. I'll handle it. Why don't you go get showered up and you can come into town with me to get groceries." She suggested. Gabriella only nodded and smiled before retreating upstairs to the bathroom. She figured her clothes she was wearing was good enough for today and brought  them into the bathroom with her towel. 

The warm water of her shower felt nice after getting a full nights sleep in her own bed. She knew she would never take this lifestyle for granted after experiencing the lack of showers and warm beds she had endured. Being cleaned of any dirt or grime felt like heaven and the clean clothes that weren't military assigned were even better, if that's imaginable.  

When she was clean, Gabriella changed back into the clothes she picked out and went downstairs to find her sister, hoping she could braid her hair for her instead of pulling it back into a bun like usual. When she hit the main floor, the kitchen was clean and her mother and Evelynn were sitting quietly in the living room while Eliza and Michael Jr. were outside running around the backyard. 

"Where's dad?" She asked, sitting on the floor in front of her sister who remained seated on the couch. 

"He got called into work for a bit. He should be back soon." Evelynn replied, already combing through Gabriella's damp hair. Gabriella watched as her mother silently stitched another cross-stitch embroidery piece. It was her favorite pass-time activity and she often sold them to make a little extra cash when she had time to make them. Her mother had been busy stitching a new piece while Gabriella was away as a form of distraction. She had hand stitched embroidery pieces that represented the twins and hung them on the wall above their pictures on the mantel above the fire. 

"Making a new piece there, mom?" Gabriella inquired as her mother threaded the needle with a different color string. 

"Oh, yes. I've been making a bunch lately and I was thinking of renting a stall at the freelance market next week. I've been making so much while you were gone I have too much now." She chuckled, beginning to stitch green leaves around the delicate pink and red tulips she stitched previously. 

"Maybe Eliza and I will help you. I think it'll be better for me to get out and see the world after being gone for so long." Gabriella stated as Evelynn finished braiding the left side of her hair as she started to braid the right side. French braids were her specialty when it came to braiding hair and she practiced on Gabriella, the twins and Eliza to perfect her art. 

"That would be lovely. Some much has changed while you were away." Mrs. Edwards stated, finishing up the leaves. "When your father gets back I'll have him drive us into town so we can get groceries. You'll get to meet the new owners of the shop." She added, cleaning up any loose threads and scraps in her lap before setting the new piece on the small table beside her arm chair. 

"New owners?" She questioned as Evelynn tied off the last braid, therefore completing the French braids. 

"Mr. and Mrs. Livelton were just too old to keep up with the store so they sold it to their eldest son and his wife. He was drafted into the Pacific but came back after Guadalcanal." Evelynn explained. Guadalcanal was the biggest battle in the beginning of the Pacific Theater of war that Gabriella had heard of. After that, it seemed to be Iwo Jima. Of course, there had been more battles than those two that lay significant in the Pacific War effort. Just like there had been more battles in Europe than what Gabriella had experienced. There was more than The Battle of the Bulge or Carentan. Normandy was probably the biggest of all of them considering it was more than just the 101st fighting that day. The paratroopers cleared the land of German guns so the other divisions could storm the beaches and help push into the Rhineland. 

After a while, Mrs. Edwards got ready to go out to town while Gabriella got Eliza cleaned up and ready. Evelynn had gotten ready before Gabriella even woke up so when Michael Sr. got back in the car (the truck was more of a work vehicle for the property and for Michael Jr. to learn on), they all piled in and drove into town. Both Michaels were inbound to a couple places to drop off resumes for Junior so they dropped the girls off at the store before driving away. The streets were busy and alive with people of all walks of life. Men were returning in the naval shipyard, but she was sure the men of Easy Company weren't to return for some time now so she didn't bother trying to find her way there. 

"Mommy, why are all those men dressed the same?" Eliza asked, tugging on Gabriella's hand as they followed behind Mrs. Edwards and Evelynn into the store. 

"Those are military uniforms, little mouse. When you enlist, they give you the uniform so people know you fought for our country. We also had nothing else to wear in the army." She explained as the family was greeted by Lilly Livelton, one of the new owners of the small shop. 

"Mrs. Edwards, it's so nice to see you again." Lilly greeted as they shared a hug. 

"And you as well, dear." She said as they parted. "Oh, I don't know if two have met before, but this is my daughter Gabriella. She just returned yesterday." Mrs. Edwards introduced. Lilly turned to Gabriella with a smile. She was similar to Evelynn in looks with the bright blue eyes and curly brown hair, except her baby bump was more noticeable since she was probably closer to three months pregnant. 

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss." She said holding out her hand. 

"You too." Gabriella said quietly, shaking her hand. Lilly had a warm, welcoming vibe to her. Gabriella knew she was someone you could trust. 

"What can I do for you folks today?" She asked, turning to look at the rest of the family. 

"Oh, just a little stock-up shop." Mrs. Edwards replied as they began walking through the small shop. Michael Sr. had given them a budget as to save money. The country was still in dire need of materials and funding to clean up the mess left behind and also to pay the soldiers for their service, along with the families of the soldiers who died in battle. Gabriella walked through the store with Eliza at her side as they picked out food items and what not before paying at the front counter. When they left, Jack had come by and welcomed Gabriella back home before disappearing to the back. Gabriella had taken it upon herself to help carry most of the groceries in the brown paper bags as Eliza walked beside Evelynn, holding her hand so she didn't run away or get separated. Mrs. Edwards lead the way to the library where they promised to meet both the Michaels at. Victory banners hung from the busy public structure and American flags waved in the slight breeze. Gabriella was earning looks of disbelief and surprise as they sat down at one of the benches. 

"What a lovely day it is today." Mrs. Edwards stated, looking up at the clear blue sky. There had only been a few teeny tiny clouds littering the sky, but for the most part it was clear as can be for this time of year. There had only  been a slight breeze that blew by every few minutes, but it wasn't enough to make them shiver. The last time Gabriella saw a clear sky like this was in Mourmelon when Bill returned from the hospital. Even the skies in Paris were clear, but not as clear and beautiful as this.

"Gabriella, you've been awful quiet lately." Her mother stated, looking at her with a face of concern. "Is all of this too much?" She asked, wondering if leaving the house so soon was a bad idea. Or maybe her daughters health wasn't well enough to be leaving the house for so long. 

"I'm fine, mom. It's just....hard getting used to life now." She answered, picking at her hands. She thought back to the noticeable times she would pick at her hands. Back then, they had been caked in mud and blood and maybe even frozen to the bone. Now, they were clean, but noticeably weaker now that she had just begun to get her strength back. Gabriella has lost weight during her time overseas but that was because she was moving around a lot and there was low food rations. After leaving the camp, she was even thinner than before. Even her fingers became brittle sticks. 

Without Gabriella noticing, Mrs. Edwards had shooed Evelynn away to take Eliza to the fountain nearby so she could talk with Gabriella. 

"My dear, I can even imagine what you went through in Europe. Things you've seen, the things you've done, are things no young girl like you should have had to go through." She started, scooting closer to her and placing a gentle hand on hers. "You have been to Hell and back, darling. And as your mother I am here for you, for what ever you may need. I will be there." She assured her. Gabriella hadn't made eye contact with her mother since sitting on the benches, the groceries at their feet. 

"When I was in Bastogne, one of the Lieutenants didn't like me. He was a replacement officer, but even though I was a Lieutenant as well, he treated me like dirt." Gabriella told, her anger rising at the thought of Dyke, who was probably home doing sweet fuck all now that the war is over. "While he was giving me odd jobs, working myself to death, I thought of how lucky my family was to not be here, living in these conditions." She continued, wiping her eyes as her mother rubbed soft circles on her back. "When we dropped into Holland, there was a family that took me in for the night. Gave me hot food. The man went out to bring Bill,  Joe and George to their house and they sheltered us for the night." Gabriella paused to calm herself down as she felt the lump in her throat grow bigger. "When the others were asleep, I thought about how these people, after all they'd been through, they still had the compassion to host foreigners in their home." 

"My sweet girl, take your time." Mrs. Edwards whispered as she felt Gabriella start to shake at the memory of Europe. 

"Every time the Company found themselves at rock bottom, I would thank God that I was there and not you guys. I was so thankful that you all didn't have to experience the terror of war like the residents of Europe did." She cried, covering her face in her hands as her elbows rested on her knees. 

"My darling Gabriella." Mrs. Edwards soothed, pulling her close. "You have no idea how grateful everyone is that you fought so hard for this country. When I first heard you were coming home to us, I prayed to thank God that you had made it out alive. The propaganda the military put up, of how the soldiers were happy over there, we knew it was false. We knew that you and the men you fought with were experiencing terrible, _terrible_ things." She told her as onlookers turned their heads as to not invade the privacy of the two. 

"I killed, mama. I took the lives of men who were forced to fight in a war so useless. They were forced to fight for the Nazi people and I took their lives for it." Gabriella mumbled into her hands as Michael Sr. pulled up in the car. Mrs. Edwards waved for him to wait there instead of running up to see what was wrong like he had wanted. 

"You did your duties as a soldier, my dear. But you are safe here with us and you don't have to go through it again." Mrs. Edwards' words were more comforting than anyone could have spoken to her. The two sat on the bench a little while longer until Gabriella could calm down while Evelynn kept Eliza from seeing her mother in distress. 

"I don't know if I'm supposed to regret what I did or not." Gabriella murmured, wiping her eyes with her sleeves once more. 

"That's something you should figure out on your own, my dear. But for now, you get to heal. You can rest, you can get your strength up, and you can relax." Her mother said as Evelynn brought Eliza over to the car. 

_Relax._

To relax seemed like a pipe-dream. She, among others, were so tense during the war especially when things got rough. They didn't want to relax too much in case they let their guard down and cost the lives of their friends. Relaxing was something you did in Mourmelon or when you had the chance to go to Paris. Relaxing only happened when you weren't behind enemy lines. 

"Why don't we go home now and you can rest some more." Mrs. Edwards suggested as Gabriella had finally calmed down. 

"Yeah...okay." She said, nodding along as they stood up from the bench and brought the groceries to the car. Mrs. Edwards sat in the back  of the car with Evelynn and Eliza along with the groceries while Gabriella sat up front with Michael Jr. sitting in between her and their father. 

"So what lovely meal is being prepared tonight, dear?" Her father asked excitedly, obviously trying to lighten the mood. 

"I picked up a nice beef roast. Nothing too big, but it would be nice for such a lovely day." Mrs. Edwards answered. The beef roast had been wrapped in brown paper and plastic-y wax paper to keep from spilling out and placed at the bottom of the brown paper bag. Potatoes were also on the menu tonight. Gabriella would never get tired of potatoes and neither did the rest of the family. It was chalked up to be because of the distant Irish heritage on Michael Sr's side of the family. 

"Sounds like quiet the meal after an  exciting day." He said, nudging his son with an elbow as they drove out of town and back to their house. 

"Ma, you'll never guess what happened today." Michael Jr. stated, turning in his seat to face the women and child in the back seat. "We handed off a resume at Mr. Peters hardware store and  he gave me the job. I start next Monday, 9-5." He announced happily. Gabriella only smiled as Evelynn and Mrs. Edwards congratulated the boy on his first job. When Gabriella left, he was 15 and now that she had spent a few years away, his 18th birthday was fast approaching. Soon he would graduate high school as well at the end of June, making him the last of the Edwards children to graduate. 

 

**~End of Chapter 23~**


	24. Not All That It's Cracked Up To Be

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made up the address btw so please don't hate

**-**

**252 Cherrywood Lane, New York**

**-**

As the family arrived home, Evelynn and Mrs. Edwards went to the kitchen immediately to put away the groceries and begin to prepare the roast for tonight. Michael Jr. had gone to his room to search through his wardrobe to find suitable work clothes. Gabriella took Eliza upstairs for her afternoon nap and Michael Sr. helped in the preparation of the dinner. When Eliza went to bed, Gabriella went back down stairs in time for the mail truck to stop at the end of the long driveway. Without a word, Gabriella left through the front door and took a stroll to the mail box as the mailman placed a pile of mail inside. 

"Good afternoon, Miss. Edwards. Glad to see you made it back okay." The mailman- Mr. James Canney- greeted as Gabriella strolled over. 

"Good afternoon, Mr. Canney. Anything interesting today?" She greeted with a smile. Mr. Canney had been the areas mailman since she was a child. He started delivering mail for his father when he was just a teen so he was still rather young. 

"Just the new paper and a bunch of letters assigned to you, miss." He answered, pulling the mail out of the mailbox and handing them to her. "How've you been since you got home? There's been so much word of your return on the street, you're like a celebrity." He asked, closing the lid to the mailbox.

"It's been rough, but I think I'll be okay. It sure doesn't feel like being a celebrity." She answered, separating the letters from the paper. 

"Well, it's good to see you back in one piece, Miss. Edwards. You have yourself a good night." He said, turning back to his mail truck. 

"You too, Mr. Canney." She said with a wave. He gave a little wave before pulling away from the property line. Gabriella took the mail back up to the house and placed the paper on the table before sitting down in the living room with the rest of the mail. There had only been one letter assigned to Evelynn and the rest were assigned to Gabriella. 

"What came in the mail today?" Evelynn asked, coming into the living room. 

"You got a letter. Rest are for me apparently." She answered, holding up Evelynn's letter. 

"Probably from Paul." She said happily,  taking the letter and sitting down on the couch. Gabriella opened the first letter signed to her and began to read. 

**'Dear Gabi,**

**We just finished our work here in Europe. Regiment wanted every soldier to have 85 of these 'points' before we could be discharged and that's exactly what we did. Good ol' Buck came back around when we were stationed in Austria. We found an open field and played a game of baseball to celebrate his return as well as ending the war both here and in the Pacific. Joe and I hit a couple home runs for you. I hope you're doing better than you were when we found you. It's weird, but it was easier moving on after you were taken to the hospital. We all knew you would be alright and I think that's what helped us get through Austria until they let us go home.** **In fact, by the time you get this I'll probably be on the train in bound for Pennsylvania. Joe and I are taking the same train, but he'll be on his own for a bit since the train drops me off first. The poor guy doesn't know what to do without you here, imagine what'll happen when both of us aren't around him.**

**I hope you're doing well Gabi. You've gone through more shit than the lot of us and you deserve to be home. God knows how much your family must have been worried about you. Probably not as much as Joe considering the mad lad tried to pace a hole in the floor a couple times in Germany. You two are something else, I gotta say. Maybe if Joe brings you to Pennsylvania you two could stop by South Philly for a bit. Wouldn't that be a sight: three of the most chaotic friends on the planet together once more. It'd be more chaotic than Paris, that's for sure.**

**You take care of yourself, Gabi. You know where I'll be if you need me.**

**Yours truly,**

**Wild Bill Guarnere'**

When she finished reading the letter she was smiling from ear to ear. The three of them together were chaotic enough during the war, imagine now that the war was over. Gabriella could only imagine the mess they would make  in a pub. She heard the marines were messy drinkers. Clearly they haven't met drunken paratroopers before. 

"What's got you so happy?" Evelynn asked from beside her, folding her letter and sliding it back into the envelope. 

"Just my friend being a jackass, is all." She answered with he smile still plastered onto her face. Bill had been quite the character, ever since Gabriella met him in Toccoa. It's an understatement to say that Gabriella had adopted an new attitude from him. The two were becoming the same person more and more as the war went on. It wasn't so noticeable after Germany, though. 

"Which friend?" Evelynn inquired, leaning closer to her sister as to look at the letter. 

"Good ol' Wild Bill." Gabriella answered, folding up the letter and placing it back in the envelope. "The craziest one in the company, if you ask me." She added as she started opening another letter. She had about three more to go through before Eliza woke up so she got to it. The next one was most surprising as it was from Johnny Martin. 

**'To Gabriella Edwards,**

**I hope this letter reaches you in a timely manner and that you're doing better since we all last saw you. Both myself and my wife are more than grateful for the sacrifice you made in Hagenau. It is thanks to you that I'm alive to see out the end of the war and to see my family again. It was an honor to serve beside the likes of you. It's a shame they didn't put your skills as Lieutenant to good use before time was up. We all know you were capable of much more, but are nonetheless grateful for what you did do for this Company.**

**I hope the trip home was an easy one for you. You deserved to be home more than most and we were all genuinely thrilled you were finally leaving this Hell for a war. Not much else had happened after we found you and the camp besides the news of Hitler's death and the surrender of the Japanese Empire. Many of the Company's were sent in different directions to help clean up as a final act of the wars end. Easy Company was one of the lucky ones who stayed on Austria to sort things out there. And let me tell you, it sure was boring trying to get enough points to go home.**

**I hope post-war life treats you well, Gabriella. So far, it's been hard for not only me, but for the rest of the Company to arrive in the Brooklyn Naval Shipyard and say goodbye to everyone before going our separate ways. Many of us took the same trains back to our home-states, but parted when we reached our rightful cities. I guess it  hurt us more that we didn't get to say a proper farewell to you in Germany. If only you could have seen us as the truck drove you away from the camp. Every Toccoa man had taken a knee around the back of the truck while we waited for backup to arrive. When the medical assistance arrived it was like we didn't have to communicate anything as we stood in salute to see you off on your way to the hospital. Anyone who witnessed would say it was the aftermath of a bond shared by a special group. We had all come so far since Toccoa, you and myself included.**

**I wish you the best, Gabriella, as we all try to return to normal life. Take care of yourself, and write back when you can. It would be a relief to hear from you how you're doing.**

**Sincerely,**

**Johnny Martin'**

By the end of the letter from Martin, Evelynn could sense it was serious and left Gabriella alone in the living room for a bit to go help her mother prepare dinner. When she was alone, Gabriella allowed a few tears to fall. She didn't expect this kind of letter from Martin. When she had first met him in Toccoa, she was sure he hated her and thought nothing more of her than a useless piece in the Chess game of war. But soon after, the two managed to stay on good terms until the end of the war. Hearing what her fellow Toccoa men had done at the camp had brought her a sense of pride to have known and to have served with such great men. 

Gabriella wiped her eyes with her sleeve before folding the letter from Martin and placing it back into the envelope before opening the next one, which was sent from George Luz. 

**'To the one and only Gabriella Edwards,**

**Cheers! To the wars end!**

**How's home life treating you? You know, you're not to far from Rhode Island. Expect a visit from everyone's favorite radioman some time in the future. Maybe after I find a job and get some money. Can't take a train anywhere when you're broke, am I right?** **It seems like everyone's been writing letters on the boat and sending them before they got on the train. I know Bill was writing to you, which gave me the idea to write too. Even though, I don't really know how so bear with me here.**

**I  hope your boat ride back to America went smoother than ours. It seems we chose the perfect time to come home, right when the sea was angrier than you and Bill at Dyke. This letter took me about four tries to get it right only because the boat would hit a wave or something and my pencil would move, making an irremovable line across the paper. Honestly, if I was writing to someone else I would have given up and gone to beat some poor suckers at cards or something. You know me, always up to trouble.**

**I hope you're feeling better. Write back when you can so we can compare boat rides and shit like that. Take care, Gab.**

**Yours truly,**

**George Luz, a.k.a The Best Radioman Alive'**

Reading George's letter had lifted Gabriella's spirits a bit, enough to return the wide grin to her face. George had always managed to make people happy, that was his whole personality it seemed. Gabriella chuckled at the memories of every time she witnessed one of his impersonations as she tucked the letter back into the envelope and set it with the others. The last letter was sent by her grandparents in the city. She put that one aside for later as Eliza wandered down the stairs and into the kitchen. Gabriella collected the letters and brought them up to her room before going back downstairs. 

"Anything interesting in your mail, dear?" Mrs. Edwards asked, placing a kettle on the stove. 

"Just a few letters from my friends and one from Grandma and Grandpa." She answered, looking out the window to see Evelynn with Eliza in the backyard. "You need help with dinner, ma?" She asked, watching as they wandered near Mrs. Edwards' vegetable garden. Evelynn pointed out the different plants growing to Eliza as she listened intently. 

"No, no dear. I'm just waiting for the roast to be done in the oven. Why don't you go outside and pick some beets for dinner." Mrs. Edwards answered. Gabriella nodded and gave a smile to her mother before leaving through the back door in bare feet. Mrs. Edwards was a critique for presentation which lead to the placement of little flat-stone paths through her garden. She claimed it was for easy access and made it look better. The stones moved as she rotated her garden every spring. 

Gabriella eyed up the perfect plants to pick as she carefully tip-toed on the stones to where the beets sat in the moist dirt. She spotted four or five perfectly sized beets and plucked them from the ground, pulling the leaves off the top and throwing them into the compost area. 

"Beets and beef roast for dinner. Yum." Evelynn hummed as Eliza chased a butterfly through the yard with the young hopes of catching it. Gabriella watched on lovingly. Eliza had the purest imagination and Gabriella wanted her to be spared from seeing the horror of war so young, which is why she only spoke of the good things that may have happened when she was around. Things like George's stories or her trip to Paris with Bill and Joe. Gabriella had been home for only a couple days and had told only a fraction of her experiences, saving the horrible stuff for herself. 

Gabriella brought the beets inside to her mother who then quickly washed them as Gabriella sat out on the back deck watching Eliza in the yard. Michael Jr. joined her after some time, bring her a cup of tea Mrs. Edwards prepared. 

"So, how's being home so far?" He asked as they sat in the wooden rocking chairs. 

"Peaceful," She answered. "And yet it's terrifying at the same time." She mumbled, lifting the warm mug to her mouth. 

"I don't doubt it. No one could possibly relate to anything you're feeling, especially after what you've experienced." Junior stated, holding his cup with both hands. 

"It's not just the experience. It's the sounds, or the lack thereof." She said, leaning back in the chair. "I would go to bed to the sound of German 88's or artillery blasts in the distance. Now, everything is quiet. The creaking of the house sounds more like footsteps around me. In Europe, silence meant bad stuff was coming. Now that I'm home, I don't know what to do with myself." She explained as best she could as Michael nodded along, taking in every word and trying to make sense of what she was saying. And everything made sense. 

"I don't know how any of you troops got any sleep if you were sleeping with those noises." He muttered, sipping on his tea. 

"In Bastogne, I was in a foxhole with a machine gunner. He was hit and fell into the back of the foxhole and I took over on the gun without ever shooting one before. When I turned around, he was gone. They dragged him away without me even noticing." She told him, spilling more about the regrets of war. 

"Did he....make it?" Junior asked quietly, looking at his older sister in concern. 

"Yeah. But he was paralyzed. Plasma didn't do anything to help him." She answered, sipping on her tea some more. After that, the two sat in silence until Mrs. Edwards called them into the house. Michael Jr. and Eliza went in first as Gabriella sat on the deck for a minute longer, taking in the scenery of their beautiful land. Her mothers gardens earned them some money in the fall when she sold a bunch of her harvest. She kept a bunch in the cellar for the winter, but sold some to make money for winter clothes for the children. 

After a moment to herself, Gabriella sat up from the chair and went back into the house as dinner was being served. She took her spot at the table to the left of her dad and to the right of Eliza as Mrs. Edwards placed plates on the table and Evelynn brought over the roast. The family ate in conversation, talking about the current events happening in the city or asking Gabriella about her letters. Talking about the ones Bill and George wrote to her helped boost her mood a tad bit  so she left out the one Martin wrote. 

When dinner was over, Gabriella helped clean up against her mothers defiance while Eliza watched the nightly television channels with the Michael's. Evelynn went into the study to write to Paul, who was staying out of town with his carrier business. When everything was done, Gabriella retired to her room for the night after putting Eliza to bed at the same time as the previous night. The sat in her bed, using a hardcover book as a writing surface, to write back to Martin, Bill and George. 

**'To Johnny Martin,**

**I am in fact doing much better since Germany. I spent so much time in hospitals I forgot how long I was actually in there, but it was enough to last me a lifetime. Hearing what the Toccoa men had done when you guys found me had given me a sense of pride, it made me proud to have served with Easy Company. If I was in any other company, I would have switched when Easy took on Spiers.**

**It was an honor to have served with you as well, Johnny. You had such a stern look to you that made even the toughest men scared. You would have made an excellent Lieutenant, if I do say so myself. I would make sacrifice after sacrifice if it meant any Company could have someone like you leading a platoon. And if I'm being honest here, I looked up to you when it came to doing Lieutenant stuff. Sure, it may have gone unnoticed, but most of my professional attitude and expression came from learning from you. You were the realest of the real, Johnny.**

**Tell your wife I said hello. You take care of yourself, too, Johnny. And welcome back home.**

**Sincerely,**

**Gabriella Edwards'**

**-**

**'To the One and Only, Wild Bill Guarnere,**

**Welcome home, Bill! I wish I was at the shipyard when y'all arrived, I would have invited you and Joe to dinner before seeing you off to the train station. I hope you made it back home safe and sound. Trains can be kind of sketchy, don't you think? I'm doing much, much better since you guys found me in Germany. It means more to me than you would know to have been found by my won Company than any other. I trusted, and trust, Easy Company more than anyone else in the entire United Stated Army Corp. Thanks for hitting home runs for me. You know I would have hit that shit out of the park if I was there. And it's good to know it was easier moving on for you guys after I was taken off the line. The last thing I would want was for you to worry about me more than doing your job. You know I'd have to smack you it it came down to it.**

**I'm sure Joe will be fine and dandy when he gets back to his family for a bit. Apparently, he wrote to my parents asking permission to stop by when he got home. The surprising thing is, they actually agreed without even meeting the guy. I'm excited to see him again and I'm hoping to take the train to Pennsylvania and see you again. Chaos will ensue, that's for sure.**

**My family is most grateful for you two being by my side in Europe. My mother told me how she made sure to make it clear in her letters back to Joe how grateful everyone was that you two had found me and not some other Company. In fact, I think both of you are more than welcome to the house if you wanna see more of New York. You'd be able to see the Medal of Honor I was awarded for my service. Wallace delivered it personally while I was in the hospital in New  York. When I think of it, I think of the Company and it will remain the greatest reminder of the friends I made and everything I had done in Europe; both good and bad.**

**You take care of yourself, Bill. And if you ever need anything, you know where to find me.**

**Yours truly,**

**Gabi'**

**-**

**'To the Greatest Radioman Alive,**

**Cheers to you too, George! and Welcome home!**

**I don't really remember my trip home in the boat considering I was pretty out of it by the time I reached the hospital here in New York. I'm glad to know everyone made it through your rough sea travels. VP Wallace had visited me in the hospital when I arrived. He personally delivered the Medal of Honor I was awarded for my service and for 'forging a two-day concept into greatness'.**

**I think you're doing very well with the whole letter writing thing, by the way. It's good to hear from you, pal. Reading your letter definitely boosted my mood. Hell, I read the letters from you and Bill and my sister looked at me like I was insane because I was smiling so much.** **Rhode Island really isn't that far from New York so maybe I'll bring the Pennsylvania boys with me when I find time in the near future.**

**I told my daughter Eliza some of the stories you told us and she's claimed you as her favorite out of all my friends from Easy Company. Congratulations, you beat Bill and Joe to that title.**

**I look forward to hearing from you again, George. Take care of yourself.**

**Sincerely,**

**Gabriella Edwards, a.k.a your #1 best friend'**

When Gabriella was done writing her letters back, she left them on the nightstand where she would find them in the morning to put stamps and addresses on envelopes and send them away. She slept peacefully that night, knowing that herself and all her friends were in the safety of their homes and families. For the first time in a long time, she didn't have a single nightmare and she didn't go to bed crying. She was at peace.

  **~End of Chapter 24~**


	25. Home Life

**-**

**A Month Later...**

**-**

After being home for roughly a month, Gabriella began to grow restless. She had the same restless feeling in Holland between Schoonderlogt and Driel. She was itching for something to do which ended in her helping out in the garden or helping her father with the old truck that was soon to be given to Michael Jr. Gabriella didn't want to find a job just yet. She wanted to connect with her daughter more and she wanted to wait a bit more for the nightmares to go away. They hadn't been too bad lately, with the odd one every other night or every two or three nights. Gabriella thought they would leave sooner or later and she could go back to being normal. But that was the thing about war: no one ever goes back to being normal, they just have to act normal. 

Since she sent her letters off to her friends, she hadn't heard anything back. Not from Bill, not from George and not from Joe either. She didn't care, though. She knew they were home and reconnecting with their families and trying their best to rejoin society. She had been the first one home out of all her closest friends. She had her time, now they needed theirs. And she understood completely how it felt trying to walk outside for the first time since the war ended.

She felt sick to her stomach. Not only because of her health, but because people she had never met before or never even seen before were looking at her with a sense of pride and admiration. Many would send her looks of sympathy because they knew it must have been hard for her being the only female in a company of men. And then there was the dark ones. The looks of hate and rage from people who despised the fact she was let into the army. They sent her looks of hate, anger and the ugliest disapproval she had ever seen. She never saw those looks from anyone before, not even the men of the company when she first arrived at Toccoa. She began to believe the only reason they were giving her those nasty looks was because she lived to see the end of the war, and they didn't like that. 

Gabriella tried her best to ignore the nasty looks she was getting so Eliza didn't see how people could possible despise her. She also didn't mention anything grueling about the war when she was around. She witnessed the darkest and most dehumanizing things in Europe that she swore to herself that she would never bring anything like that upon her daughter, especially while she was still at the young age where the world doesn't quite make sense yet. 

Not only had Gabriella struggled to fit back  in with society, but she struggled to accept the fact that her actions to join the army had killed her younger siblings. Their funeral was  harder to attend than her late-husbands. Gabriella didn't leave her bed for a day after that. 

-

After a month of being home, Gabriella had begun to return to her normal weight and gained much of her strength back. She was fitting her clothes much better, but she liked the style of wearing trousers with the suspenders so they became her normal style. Despite Evelynn's best intentions to get her sister to wear a dress once in a while, Gabriella continued to wear her trousers and button-up long sleeve shirts. She had grown so used to wearing her OD uniforms that skirts and dresses felt weird, almost irregular or supernatural. 

"I don't see your problem with dresses, you used to love buying new ones." Evelynn complained in a harmless manner as Gabriella stepped out from their make-shift changing room: a bed sheet hung from the ceiling. She donned her red dress with the black under the skirt. She did a little twirl to show it off to Evelynn while Eliza sat on the bed with her dolls. 

"I spent years wearing pants, Eve. Wearing dresses is weird now." Gabriella answered, looking down at her bare legs. "This is also the first time I've shaved my legs in a long time." She mumbled, earning a cackle from Evelynn. 

"Are you keeping that one?" Evelynn asked, calming down from her laughing fit.

"Definitely." Gabriella replied, going back behind the sheet and stripping from the dress and placing it back on it's hanger. Gabriella had been going through most of her clothes brought back from her apartment. She kept most of her trousers except the ones that didn't fit proper. The outfits she wore for the White House were too _'ill-fighting'_ and _'out of style'_ according to Evelynn. Gabriella agreed. The pencil skirts and tight-fitting blouses needed to go. And since she bought most of her clothes herself, she planned on selling them in the freelance market when Mrs. Edwards sells her cross-stitch pieces. Her mother postponed a couple weeks of market stalls and rented one for tomorrow. Anything she didn't sell, she figured she'd give to charity. 

"You're getting rid of a lot  of nice stuff, Gab." Evelynn stated, sitting on the bed and holding a pale green dress to her figure. Gabriella walked  out from behind the sheet in a pale blue dress that was a tad too short and stopped about mid-thigh, giving free view of the scar on the inside  of her thigh from Bastogne. 

"Definitely getting rid of this one." She said before hiding behind the curtain, ignoring Evelynn's begging eyes for the pale green dress. Evelynn waited as Gabriella changed from one dress to another before stepping out in another blue dress, this one coming down to her knees and had longer sleeves that stopped at her elbows. 

"You think I should keep this one?" Gabriella asked, looking in the long mirror perched against the wall. 

"Can I  keep this one?" Evelynn asked in retort, still holding the pale green dress to her figure. It fit her perfectly, especially with her small baby bump. It had long sleeves that came down to her wrists and stopped at  the top  of  her knees. Paul always said she looked best in green for it complimented her blue eyes and blonde hair wonderfully. 

Gabriella and Evelynn were polar opposites when  it came to looks, especially after Gabriella got home. Evelynn had light blonde hair and bright blue eyes and Gabriella had the dark brown hair and bright green eyes. Gabriella got her looks from her mothers side of the family and Evelynn got hers from her fathers side. Michael Jr. had a bit of both while the twins had split those traits evenly. They had a unique family that was for sure. 

"Sure." Gabriella shrugged in answer to her sister. Evelynn hugged the dress tightly with a wide smile, thanking her sister. Gabriella smiled and decided to keep the  blue one. She tried on another green dress her grandmother had made for her and decided to  keep it instantly. It was a mint green, even paler than the one she gave to Evelynn. It had two straps that sat on her shoulders, holding it up, and it cinched around her waist a bit. This one also came down to her knees and looked great with a thin, white cardigan over top. 

By the time they finished sorting through the clothes Gabriella had, they had more than enough to sell at the market and Gabriella's closet was half empty now. They folded all the dresses and placed them in boxes and suitcases for transport. Mrs. Edwards had rented a stall  at the market for today and the market opened officially at noon. It was 9:45 a.m. 

Evelynn went to her room to change into the dress Gabriella had given her and came back to find Gabriella dressed in grey trousers with a red button-up with the  sleeves rolled to her elbows. 

"Really? You're trying to sell dresses here, why not wear one." Evelynn complained, earning a shrug from her sister as she brought boxes downstairs. Gabriella had a small bag packed with things to keep Eliza occupied since Michael Sr. was at work today and Michael Jr. was going to work after dropping them off at the market. Gabriella sat in the bed of the old truck with the boxes and suitcases while Mrs. Edwards and Evelynn sat up front with Junior, Eliza sitting on the lap of Mrs. Edwards.

The ride into town was smooth. Gabriella liked sitting in the back of the truck, the wind felt nice on such a warm day, but it messed up her hair a bit. It was good she had a hat with her or else she would look like she was fresh out of a tornado. 

-

They set up the stall with ease as they folded clothing items and laid them  out on tables or hung them from clothing wires. Mrs. Edwards at her cross-stitch pieces laid out in frames made by Michael Sr. He had access to wood from his work so he was able to make many frames with ease and close to no money for his wife. 

"What a beautiful day for a market, don't you think, dear?" Mrs. Edwards asked Gabriella as she hung up one of the dresses on the line. 

"Let's hope no wind picks up." She mumbled, using clothespins to hold the material to the line. 

"Amen to that." Evelynn muttered, pulling up a couple chairs. Eliza was set up at the back of the stall, her occupying items spread out on the blanket. Their stall was right  up against a building so it provided perfect shade cover.  When they finished setting up the market stall, the market officially opened and the first few people started to walk by each stall, eyeing up what they had to offer and if it was something they weren't interested in, they moved on. Gabriella sat at the back with Eliza as Evelynn and Mrs. Edwards sat in the chairs, resting their feet while they could. 

"Good afternoon, ladies." A young gentleman greeted as he approached their stall. 

"Good afternoon, to you, sir. See anything that piques your interest?" Evelynn greeted. She was always good with selling things and if she wasn't to become a nurse, she would have made a damn fine sales rep. 

"Nothing of my interest but my girlfriend might like these." He answered, running a finger over one of the dresses that hung on the clothesline. Gabriella  sat back and watched as Evelynn sold through most of her clothes while her mother sold through some of her cross-stitch pieces, both of them making good money. It made Gabriella happy to see her mother so cheerful when she spoke with some people about cross-stitching. 

"Why am I selling your clothes?" Evelynn asked, sitting back down in her chair. 

"Because I gave you a dress." Gabriella replied as Eliza rested her head in her lap, falling asleep almost instantly. "And because I have a sleeping child." She added as Mrs. Edwards sold her last cross-stitching piece. 

"Well  it certainly has been a good day for the market." She said, sitting down as well.

By 2 in the afternoon, there were no more cross-stitch pieces left and no more dresses left. The three packed up the suitcases while Gabriella folded all the trousers and blouses that didn't get sold. She figured  she would donate them to the factories or even to the church for charity. By 3, Michael Sr. was off work and picked up the girls in the car. They stopped at the Church while Gabriella dropped off the  box, talking with one of the Church sisters before getting back in the car. When they got home, Mrs. Edwards sorted through the money they made while Evelynn started to prepare dinner and Gabriella organized the suitcases back into the study. Junior got home from work just in time for dinner to be served and the family ate while sharing their stories of the day. 

After dinner, Gabriella helped clean up the kitchen with Evelynn. Mrs. Edwards went back to dividing the money made between the three women before packing her share away in the safe until it can be brought to the bank. Evelynn had the least amount since it wasn't her work or her clothes being sold, but she did sell most of it so Gabriella insisted she  get some of the profit. She hid her share in  her room somewhere while Gabriella stuffed her earnings in her own little safe, the one she kept from the apartment. The safe consisted of Eliza's birth certificate, her late-husbands death certificate, a couple other important documents, the pistol and some savings money. 

By 8 o'clock that night, Gabriella put Eliza to bed like every other night before retreating to her room. The night was when it was most peaceful for Gabriella. She could shut the lights off in her room and sit by the window to look at the stars or she had quiet time to read and treat herself to some peace and quiet. Except tonight had been different. Around 9, there was a knock at the front door. Gabriella heard it, but stay upstairs. That was until Evelynn came running upstairs and dragged her back down. 

"Gabriella, ma chère belle-sœur." Paul greeted, as she stepped off the stairs. 

"Paul, it's good to see you again." She greeted as they shared a quick embrace. Paul was a nice man, he cared for Evelynn and was gentle with her, unlike some of the men who had their eye on her in past years. 

"It may be a bit late, but welcome home, cavalière." He said, giving a few soft pats to her shoulder. 

"Thank you, Paul." She said as they all migrated to the living room, Mrs. Edwards coming back with a bottle of wine and enough glasses for the adults. Paul had been gone a month for his carrier service, transporting goods across the state. It was good money, but it meant he was away a lot of the time. His main goal was to work as much as he could before their baby arrived so that when the baby came, he had enough saved up that he could take time off and still pay the bills. Evelyn didn't mind either. 

"So, how was business?" Michael Sr. asked, sipping from his wine. 

"Oh, you know. The road is boring when all I can think about it my femme bien-aimée." He answered, giving Evelynn's hand a squeeze as she looked at him with  the most loving expression Gabriella had ever seen come from her sister. 

Gabriella sat quietly as her family conversed with Paul, asking about his travels and what not. Gabriella had finished her wine and wanted nothing more than to go back to bed, so she quietly excused herself and retreated back up stairs after an hour of sitting quietly listening to her family talk. She was happy for Evelynn, now that Paul was back for a while. She didn't have any problems with Paul either, but seeing them together and happy again made Gabriella feel a tad bit jealous. She was confused at first as to why she would be jealous. She knew she wasn't jealous that Paul had married Evelynn, those two were made for each other. Gabriella figured out that she was jealous because they had been reunited once more. When she saw those two being affectionate, Gabriella couldn't help but think about the hospital in Belgium, and what happened between her and Joe. Thinking about it now, her mind went to the conversation she had with her mother her first night back, and how her mother told her about the letters Joe had sent them after he got out of the hospital. All the talk about how he wrote to them saying she had his heart forever. All of this made Gabriella realized that she wasn't jealous. 

She just missed Joe.

 

**~End of Chapter 25~**

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own anything that comes from the miniseries, Band of Brothers. Characters included.  
> I do not mean any disrespect at all towards the real Band of Brothers, but I will be changing things in my story to go with an idea I had which lead to this story being made. Which means certain characters won't die like they actually did because I need them for my story. 
> 
> Think of this as an alternate universe if it makes it easier/better


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